Anadolu Fortress

The Anadolu (Anatolian) fortress was built in 1395 by Yildirim Bayezid. It is located on the Anatolian side, where Göksu Stream flows into the Bosphorus. This fortress was built in the narrowest part of the Bosphorus. It is part of Istanbul’s plan to prepare for the Ottoman siege. Because it was built to seize the Bosphorus and safely cross the army to the opposite shore in a war near Europe.
Before Rumeli Fortress was built before the conquest of Istanbul, this fortress was fortified so that the throat was kept under control with two fortresses. It is one of the most beautiful works of its kind in Anatolian Turkish architecture.
It attracts plenty of visitors with its Bosphorus view and beautiful nature.
Cafes located in Fortress, where Göksu stream flows into the sea, is a place that people prefer for breakfast on weekends. However, it is possible to find many beautiful and cute tea gardens, cafes and restaurants around the area and square of Anadolu Fortress pier. You can watch the magnificent Bosphorus view by walking in the narrow streets towards the hills.                                                                          You can go to there by public bus from Usküdar. Or you can have a ferry from Eminönü.
It is one of the must-see places in Istanbul. We recommend.

Rumeli Fortress

Rumeli Fortress is a work of great importance in terms of history to the Bosphorus in the Sariyer district of Istanbul. The Rumeli Fortress, the seventh sultan of the Ottoman Empire, II. It was built by Mehmed, also known as Fatih Sultan Mehmet.
Rumeli Fortress, which is a magnificent structure with its three big towers and walls. It is located opposite the Anatolian Fortress at the point where the two shores of the Bosphorus are closest. The construction of the fortress began on April 15, 1452, and was completed on August 31, 1452. The fortress is 120 meters wide and 250 meters long. It has a total of four towers and 13 towers. The fort has four main entrance gates and a small side gate. The tower also has 2 hidden gates leading to ammo and food warehouses.
It is known that it was built to cut aid from the Black Sea to the Byzantine Empire and to control the transition of ships in the Bosphorus.
In Rumeli Fortress, activities such as outdoor concerts was held. It is open to visitors as a museum. Fortress museum displays artillery shells and part of the chain that covers the Golden Horn.
There are many tea gardens and many restaurants in the fortress. It has also become a frequent destination for domestic and foreign tourists with its unique scenery and historical importance.
Entrance to Fortress Museum is at 09:00 in the morning and the museum is closed on Wednesday.
It is one of the places to see and see in Istanbul. We recommend.

Million Stone in Istanbul

Million Stone in Istanbul is a marble column halfway in the pit on the tramway near the entrance door of the Basilica Cistern, northwest of Sultanahmet Square. This marble milk marked “0 point”, the center of the world, for a period of history. This stone, called the Milliarium Aureum, the Golden Milestone, and known as the “Million”, was the starting point for the whole world.

A starting point would be marked in the center of the capital in the Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire. All roads spread across the country were indicated by these distance stones and their distance from the center. The distance of the other cities of the country to the capital was calculated in this way.

The Million Monument was considered the beginning of the Roman roads. It was also considered as the point where the 0th meridian passes, based on time measurements. Until the meridian passing through Greenwich Observatory in England in 1884 was accepted as the starting meridian, Istanbul Million Stone was accepted as the starting point by the whole world. Starting from Istanbul Million Stone, it is known that time, distance and direction calculations are made according to this point.

Distances of Istanbul Million Stone to some world cities:

Ankara – …………453 km
Izmir – …………….484 km
Sofia – …………….468 km
Antalya – ………..708 km
Athens – …………764 km
Kayseri – …………766 km
Belgrade – ………812 km
Adana – …………..926 km
Trabzon – ……..1062 km
Sarajevo – ……..1084 km
Budapest – ……1295 km
Diyarbakir – …..1328 km
Rome – …………..1377 km
Damascus -……1488 km
Vienna – …………1498 km
Van – ………………1532 km
Berlin – …………..1740 km
Baku – …………….1756 km
Moscow – ………1757 km
Nicosia – ………..1846 km
Tehran – …………2040 km
Baghdad – ……..2065 km
Paris -………………2258 km
Mecca – …………..2407 km
London – …………2502 km
Cairo – ……………..4348 km
Tashkent -………..4588 km
Islamabad -……..4895 km                                                                                                                                                                                Delhi – ……………..5710 km
Beijing – …………..7063 km
Hong Kong -……8012 km
New York – ………8088 km
Toronto – ………….8194 km
Washington – …..8415 km
Tokyo – ……………..8954 km
Havana – …………..9984 km
Buenos Aires – .12258 km
Sydney – …………14951 km

Obelisk

The Obelisk, located on the Spina wall of the hippodrome in Sultanahmet Square, is an ancient Egyptian. It was brought to Egypt by the Roman emperor Theodosius I in 390 AD and erected there.

The Obelisk was the first Egyptian pharaoh III. It was built by Tutmosis in the 15th century BC. It was erected south of the seventh pylon of the Karnak temple. Roman emperor II. Constantius brought the obelisk to the city of Alexandria over the Nile river in honor of its 30th anniversary of its throne. In 390 AD, Emperor Theodosius carried to Istanbul with the special ships he built. Erected to its current location in Hippodrome. Since then, it has been in the same place, without changing its location.

The obelisk is made of Red Asvan Granite stone. Its original height was 30 m. Today, its height is 18.45 m (24.87 m with its base). It is estimated that the lower part was destroyed during transportation or when placed in its current location. Its weight is on average 200 tons.

Those who come to visit the Sultanahmet square watch the Egyptian obelisk in the hippodrome with interest and take plenty of pictures. It is one of the most popular place of Istanbul.

Serpentine Column

Serpentine Column, it is a bronze monument depicting three python snakes entangled in the Hippodrome (today’s Horse Square) in Sultanahmet square in Istanbul. It is the oldest large monument in Istanbul that has survived from the classical period to the present day. It was made in memory of the victory of the Battle of Plataea won by the Greek cities united against the Persian army in 479 BC. The eighteen meter high column was in the form of three snakes. The bronze column, which had reached the present day, was carrying a tripod made of gold with tails intertwined.
A 5-meter section can be seen in the hippodrome square. The top and bottom are broken. Two of the column’s snake heads are missing. One of them is exhibited in Istanbul Archeology Museum.
Nowadays, it is visited by people who come to visit the hippodrome square. It attracts great attention with other columns in the square.

German Fountain

German Fountain, it is the fountain located in the hippodrome in Sultanahmet Square. German Emperor II. It is a gift of Wilhelm to the Ottoman Sultan and the people of Istanbul. It was built in Germany and installed in its place in Istanbul in 1901. It is a fountain with very beautiful stonework. It is decorated with golden mosaics from the inside.

The German fountain is not like the European sculptures with classical sculptures and the classical Turkish fountains. It was made in a different style. It has eight water flowing taps. There is a dome carried by eight columns on the water reservoir. There are a medallion in the pandifs on the arches that connect the columns. The Ottoman Sultan II. Abdulhamid’s monogram, the German Emperor II, on the Prussian blue among the other four. The number II is placed under the “W letter”, which is the symbol of Wilhelm.
Today, it is a fountain that actively flows and uses water. It happened on some special days when sherbet was poured from the fountain.

Hipodrome Istanbul

Hipodrome Istanbul, The other name of Sultanahmet Square is hippodrome. Also known as horse square. It is one of the most popular meeting and touring places in Istanbul.

Hippodrome was the center of life in Byzantium and Ottoman. During the Byzantine era, it was an arena where the chariot teams competed.
It was not an arena where gladiators fought like in Rome. It was mostly used for entertaining show.

During the Ottoman period, sultans followed the activities in the Hippodrome. If things went bad in the empire, the people gathered here could signal the beginning of an ailment, then a revolt.

The priceless sculptures of the Hippodrome were looted by the soldiers of the Fourth Crusade, which invaded Constantinople in 1204. Today, many are in museums in Italy.

The Hippodrome has a German Fountain with beautiful stonework. German emperor Kaiser Wilhelm presented this fountain to the Ottoman sultan and his people in 1901 for friendship purposes.

The beautifully preserved pink granite Theodosius Obelisk in the middle of the hippodrome was carved in Egypt during the period of Thutmose III (1549-1503 BC) and planted in the temple of Amon-Re in Karnak. Great Theodosius (379-95) brought it from Egypt to Constantinople in 390 AD. On the marble podium under the obelisk, there is a statue of Theodosius’s bodyguards who watch the wives, sons, government officials and warriors.

Near the obelisk are the head pillars of three snakes, known as Spiral Columns that come out of a hole in the ground. It was once much longer. Despite being damaged in the Byzantine period, the snakes’ heads were in place until the beginning of the 18th century. The only thing left today is an upper jaw in the Istanbul Archeology Museum.

Hippodrome square has not left much to date as a historical monument. But it is still one of the most popular sightseeing places in Istanbul. It is a place where local and foreign tourists come. When you get tired by traveling, you can relax in the cafes nearby. Cars and other vehicles cannot enter the hippodrome and its surroundings, it is only a walking area for people.