I was there two weeks ago and it was an amazing experience. If you have the opportunity, I would recommend walking the Theodosian walls from South to North, finishing at the Palace of Blachernae.
@e.t.ethics1771it’s a public square, it’s open 24/7. There is quite a lot of police and gendarmes around but that’s just because it’s a heavy tourist site
A thousand thanks to you for taking the time and effort to make these videos! You are doing the world a great service, and helping me experience places I may never see in person.
There are actually some visible remnants of the hippodrome structure below the school behind the Egyptian obelisk. It's not open to the public yet, but I believe there's some restoration ongoing at the moment.
I am flying to Istanbul in four weeks. This is one of many must see in Istanbul. Excellent narration of the historical importance of these obelisk/monuments. Thank you.
Thanks for the tour, Ryan. I will go and see it myself if I get the chance to visit Istanbul. Only some days ago my friend went to Istanbul with his family. He should have seen this video first. I'll ask him if he visited the site. Greetings from Denmark.
The riots also started from there (the Hippodrome), were unnecessary and violent as f**k and burned big parts of the town including important buildings and statues that were part of Constantinople's cultural identity and part of the whole Graeko-Roman culture. The great Zeus of Phidias, once brought here like many marvels of the ancient world, was one of the victims of this rebellion (just to give an example). The destruction was so big that it is a main reason why later Constantinople did look way less "Roman" than it did from the beginning. And it directly threatened the rule of Justinian. 20.000 dead is a lot and unfortunately this number seems to be factual according to historians (some speak of even higher death tolls), but how could an emperor let this atrocious act happen without severe punishment? This whole story is so messed up and brutal... and unnecessary.😵 In the end it only strengthened Justinians rule, because it was also a way for him to kill off his opposition, who thought they had something to gain by participating and adding more fuel to the riot. Most of the 20.000 dead would've survived, if the riots had stopped early enough (Justinian promised judicial amnesia, but no one listened and they went on trying to get an usurpator on his throne. Then the slaughter started).
Do you know why there is a vertical channel missing in the base @4:28? At first I thought it was a hole drilled thru it. But it looks more like erosion. Acid rain damage?
It looks like the base of the obelisk was used to support another structure, possibly the divider or wall that bisected the hippodrome that the chariots would race around.
If i had a bazillion dollars, i would hire you to be my personal tour guide, and we would go and see everything, there could be no better way to experience these ancient marvels than with someone who is well-versed in the lore and history and enjoys talking about it.... it's cool that you exist.!
A wonderful observation indeed. I've thought the same all my life. There is something dark, dismal, and bleak about the Byzantines. I'm from Türkiye and everytime I see relics from the Byzantine times, this thought inevitably emerges in my head.
I've viewed many Byzantine items and have never thought this once before. I guess it has more to do with the personal opinions of the viewer than the item itself.
