istanbul - C2C

56
At the Forum of Theodosius (Beyazıt Square)
the Mese road divided into two branches. One of
the branches continued towards today’s Aksaray,
and led to Yedikule and Altınkapı, and the other
branch to the present-day Edirnekapı. If you
leave the tram line and follow the road towards
Edirnekapı you will find two more forums.
The first is the Forum of Philadelphion at
Şehzadebaşı, though there are no remains from
this forum today.
The next forum is the Forum of Amasterianon,
which was situated on the site of present-day
İskenderpaşa Square in Fatih District where
the Column of Marcian known in Turkish as the
Kıztaşı (Maiden Stone) still stands.The
Turkish name is associated with the
reliefs on its base which led to many
tales about the column. One of them
is about a maiden who was carrying
a stone block for the construction of
Ayasofya when she was deceived by
a genie to shift the stone there. When
she realised her mistake she was unable
to move it. Another romour refers to the
magical nature of the column which bends
forwards to reveal the maidens who are
not virgins. In reality the column was
erected in 455 AD for Emperor Marcian,
and the reliefs were actually depictions of
Nike, the goddess of victory. The column
most probably related one of the victories
of the emperor or wished him success
in a battle. The bronze statue of Marcian
was looted and taken back to Europe
in 13th century, as happened to many
monuments in İstanbul.