Preexistence Turkey Constantinople Hippodrome

Constantinople Hippodrome is aRomeThe arena, was a Byzantine capital Constantinople sports and social centre. Now here is the Istanbul old city center of Sultan Ahmad square. It is next to the Blue Mosque, is a Southwest - northeast, the long and narrow square.

Sultan Ahmad square

In ancient times, horse and chariot racing is a popular leisure activity, inGreecePeriod (commonly referred to as the transition period of Greek classical period and Rome cultures), ancient Rome and Byzantine Greek city, horse racing are very common.

The first racetrack built in the Byzantine era, when it was a provincial capital city. In 203 ad, the emperor Septiemius Severus reconstruction of the city, the expansion of the city wall, and built racetracks, used for chariot races and other entertainment projects.

A square and Blue Mosque

In 324 BC, Constantin the Great decided to move the capital from Rome to Byzantium, and the city was renamed new Rome, soon renamed constantinople. Constantin the great expansion of city scale, one of the important engineering is to repair the racecourse. The racetrack is in the shape of U, estimates that about 450 meters long, 130 meters wide, can accommodate 100000 spectators. In the Byzantine period, city Racecourse is the center of social life.

Constantinople never recovered from the Fourth Crusade destruction, until 1453 the Byzantine empire. Then, the racecourse has become ruins. In 1453, the city was OsmanTurkeyConquest, Osman and became the capital of the empire.

In the Osman Empire, because the Turks are not interested in racing, horse racing the original purpose has gradually been forgotten. However, this place has not build buildings, but also be used in a variety of celebration activities, such as Sultan Ahmed Sans son of grand luxury circumcision, continued for several days. In the Empire of Osman's paintings, the arena seats and memorial building is still intact. Today, the plane and scale of Sultan Ahmad square, is roughly equivalent to the racetrack has disappeared.

Image & text.OrdinarySina Blogger