| |
|
|
THE CITY HIPPODROME
THE SERPENTINE COLUMN:
The Serpentine Column is one of the most ancient monuments of İstanbul. It was originally the base of the golden cauldron, with the heads of three serpents whose bodies are spun together in a column providing the three points on which the cauldron rested. The 8 metre column and the cauldron were made by melting the bronze items captured by 31 Greek cities when they defeated the Persians in the 5th century B.C. and erected at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. In A.D. 324, Emperor Constantine the Great had it carried to Istanbul and erected at the Hippodrome. According to many sources, the heads of the serpents were still intact by the early 1700's, but were broken afterwards. Later, one of the heads was found and placed in the Istanbul Museum of Archaeology.
The Serpentine Column
|
|
|
THE GERMAN FOUNTAIN:
The octagonal, domed fountain at the entrance of the Hippodrome was a gift of the German Emperor Wilhelm II to Sultan Abdulhamid II and the City of Istanbul. It was made in Germany and installed at its present site in Istanbul in 1898. The dome of the fountain designed in the neo-Byzantine style is decorated with golden mosaics.
Although a beautiful piece of art, the German Fountain poses a contrast to the ancient monuments that surround it.
The German Fountain
|
<< |
1 |
 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
|
|
>> |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
