Hippodrom and Atmeydanı: A Stage for Istanbul's History

16 February - 18 April 2010

The exhibition "Hippodrome/ Atmeydanı: A Stage for İstanbul's History" took the visitor on a tour of one of the major architectural achievements of Byzantine Constantinople. Images from the fifteenth and early sixteenth century showed the structure of the Hippodrome to have been fairly well preserved at the time of the Ottoman conquest. The construction of Ottoman palaces and the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, however, played a major role in the dismantling of the remains of the Hippodrome. Nevertheless, this large open space's association with horses was preserved. It became known as Atmeydanı (Horse Square) during the Ottoman era and was used for playing the equestrian game cirit. The Ottomans and the sultans also continued to hold celebrations and public spectacles in the area. Visitors to the Hippodrome today can view its three surviving monuments-the masonry obelisk, the Serpent Column, and the Egyptian obelisk-but few can easily imagine the splendor and size of the original Hippodrome that stood for more than eleven centuries."The Hippodrome/ Atmeydanı: İstanbul's Stage of History" exhibition almost rebuilt the magnificent Hippodrome decorated with exceptionally beautiful monuments and the Atmeydanı of the Ottoman period, and examined the life surrounding them.