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The Obelisk of Theodosius on Sultanahmet Square
Photo: Ninara / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0, resized

Culture · Istanbul · Fatih

Hippodrome (Sultanahmet Square)

Sultanahmet Meydanı (Hipodrom)

The long square beside the Blue Mosque that follows the line of the Byzantine chariot-racing track, with an Egyptian obelisk and the bronze Serpent Column still standing on it.

  • Open space No opening hours, no ticket
  • Ticket Free
  • Visit ~15–45 min

Directions See it on the Istanbul map

Build a day-by-day plan with closing-day warnings and ticket totals.

What to see

Three monuments mark the old central barrier: the Obelisk of Theodosius, carved in Egypt for Pharaoh Thutmose III and set on a Roman base showing the emperor at the races; the twisted bronze Serpent Column brought from Delphi; and the rougher Walled Obelisk. At the north end stands the domed German Fountain, a gift of Kaiser Wilhelm II.

It is a free, open square — fifteen minutes for the monuments, or longer as the hub of a day in Sultanahmet, between the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts.

Early morning and late evening are the quietest times.

Getting there

Two minutes from the Sultanahmet stop on the T1 tram line.

Transport lines are general directions, not checked against the operator's timetable.

Nearest rail & tram stops

  • T1 Sultanahmet in Turkish Tram stop ~200 m~3 min walk (estimate)
  • Marmaray Sirkeci in Turkish Suburban rail station ~800 m~14 min walk (estimate)

Straight-line distance; the walking time adds a rough allowance for detours. Stops on operating lines only (OpenStreetMap, via ilçemde, our sister directory); station pages open on ilçemde and show what is around each station (in Turkish — names, phone numbers and map work in any language).

Open in OpenStreetMap See it on the Istanbul map

Nearby

Open now near me →

Eat & drink nearby

Restaurants

Cafés

  • Coffee No. 4 Coffee shop · ~300 m (straight line) 5.0 on Yandex (120 reviews)
  • DaRoute Coffee Coffee shop · ~250 m (straight line) 5.0 on Yandex (58 reviews)
  • North Art Coffee Coffee shop · ~300 m (straight line) 4.8 on Yandex (63 reviews)
  • Poika Café · ~200 m (straight line) 4.7 on Yandex (62 reviews)
  • Khaldi Café · ~250 m (straight line) 4.7 on Yandex (62 reviews)

Bakeries

Listings from ilçemde, our sister directory; ratings from the map service shown. We don't rank by payment. Nearer places come first (within 300 m, then 700 m), then ratings weighted by how many reviews they have. Opening hours can change; “Open now” uses Istanbul time.

Also in this area

Straight-line distances.

Where to stay nearby

Fatih has 493 places to stay licensed by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (Ministry list, counted on ilçemde on 30 Sep 2026).

Hotels and guesthouses in Fatih ↗

Accommodation lists open on ilçemde, our sister directory of Turkish businesses (new tab). We do not take bookings or commissions.

Pharmacies on duty tonight in Fatih ↗ The list changes every day; on-duty pharmacies stay open when the others are closed.

About this page

Location: OpenStreetMap — Sultanahmet Meydanı (way/25512790; Nominatim, 01.10.2026). Ticket, hours and closing days: only from the operator's own pages; anything we could not confirm there is marked “Not verified”. Last checked 1 Oct 2026.