HIPPODROME

Erected by Septimus Severus as a part of his efforts to rebuild the city after his thorough destruction, the Hippodrome was located in today's At Meydani, the park in front of the Blue Mosque, the central point in Sultanahmet. The Hippodrome was the main congregation center for the Byzantines, capable of sitting around 100.000 people at one point, who gathered for political events and to watch the popular chariot races. Once the graveyard for 30,000 during the effort to put down the Nika revolt in 532, not much remains today from the original structure, except for two of the columns decorating the center of the arena. The Hippodrome is the recommended starting point for the inevitable Old City tour.