istanbul - C2C

16
The Historical Peninsula
The Heart of the Historical Peninsula:
Sultanahmet and Its Environs
The most magnificent of İstanbul’s monuments
are clustered on the historical peninsula, the
triangular piece of land surrounded by the Sea of
Marmara to the west and south, by the Golden
Horn to the north and by the city walls to the
east. The Megarians settled here and Septimus
Severus, who was largely responsible for the pre-
Byzantine settlement, paid particular attention
to this area. The city walls, which were built
according to plans that the Emperor Constantine
drew up with a spear, form the base of the
triangle.
The centre of the land that was the core of
İstanbul was the area we know today as
Sultanahmet Square. The most prominent
examples of Byzantine and Ottoman architecture
can be seen in close proximity here.
In the Byzantine Period the centre of the city was
the Hippodrome and its environs. The palace
which was the centre of power; Ayasofya (Hagia
Sophia) the most spectacular of the religious
buildings, the Hippodrome which served as
the common entertainment centre and the
Yerebatan Sarnıcı (Yerebatan Cistern) which