istanbul - C2C

From Mese to Divanyolu: Squares
and Monuments of İstanbul
Yedikule
İstanbul was laid out along two main roads in the
Byzantine Period. One of them was Kardo which
ran between Golden Horn and the harbours
along the shores of Sea of Marmara. The other
was Mese, connecting the seven squares of
Byzantium. Kardo was the commercial route as it
connected the harbours, while Mese had a more
important function. As Byzantium was regarded
as the centre of the world, all roads leading to
different parts of the world were assumed to start
from İstanbul, and their first metres were on the
Mese. Emperors leaving for a war or returning
victorious passed under the Altınkapı (Golden
Gate – Porte Aurea), which was on the city walls
where Mese passed through at a place near
present-day Yedikule.
On this thoroughfare various Byzantine emperors
built squares bearing their names, and decorated
them with monuments. Although these squares,
located at equidistance, couldn’t survive to the
present day, some of the monuments are still
extant.
istanbul
51