My Day to Recover

Richard, Portia and the kids had scheduled a foodie tour on the Asian side of Istanbul for Wednesday, October 22. This would be another marathon day of walking and eating that I felt was not in my wheelhouse. So Karen and I sent them on their merry way and we planned a lighter schedule so we could rest and recover from two previous ambitious days of touring.

We would have slept in but our circadian rhythm is still off, so we are waking up earlier than usual. Breakfast upstairs on the terrrace is where the day typically starts. We're enjoying the variety of Turkish breakfast fare. We discuss what our touring agenda would look like today. We were interested in seeing the Basilica Cistern of Istanbul. It is located near the Hagia Sophia, so not a terribly long walk from our hotel.

We departed the hotel around 10:00 AM and took a back road up toward the Blue Mosque end of the Hippodrome of Constantinople. Back in the day, this was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square in Istanbul, Turkey, known as Sultanahmet Square.

In AD 324, Emperor Constantine the Great decided to re establish Byzantium after his victory at the nearby Battle of Chrysopolis; he renamed it Nova Roma (New Rome). This name failed to impress and the city soon became known as Constantinople, the City of Constantine. Constantine greatly enlarged the city and one of his major undertakings was the renovation of the Hippodrome. It is estimated that the Hippodrome of Constantine was about 1,476 ft long and 427 ft wide. The carceres (starting gates) stood at the northern end; and the sphendone (curved tribune of the U-shaped structure, the lower part of which still survives) stood at the southern end. The spina (the middle barrier of the racecourse) was adorned with various monuments, including the monolithic obelisk, the erection of which is depicted in relief carvings on its base.

The stands were capable of holding around 100,000 spectators. The race-track at the Hippodrome was U-shaped, and the Kathisma (emperor's lodge) was located at the eastern end of the track. The Kathisma could be accessed directly from the Great Palace through a passage which only the emperor or other members of the imperial family could use.

Throughout the Byzantine period, the Hippodrome was the center of the city's social life. A total of up to eight chariots (two chariots per team), powered by four horses each, competed on the racing track of the Hippodrome. These races were not simple sporting events, but also provided some of the rare occasions in which the emperor and the common citizens could come together in a single venue. Political discussions were often made at the Hippodrome, which could be directly accessed by the emperor through a passage that connected the Kathisma with the Great Palace of Constantinople.

We walked northeast towards the Hop ON Hop OFF bus tour site from the previous day. Across the trolly tracks we found the entrance to the Bascilia Cistern. The Basilica Cistern, or Cisterna Basilica, is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul, Turkey. The cistern, located 490 ft southwest of the Hagia Sophia on the historical peninsula of Sarayburnu, was built in the 6th century during the reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian I. Today it is kept with little water, for public access inside the space.

This subterranean cistern was called Basilica because it was located under a large public square, the Stoa Basilica, on the First Hill of Constantinople. Prior to its construction, a great basilica stood on the spot. It had been built during the Early Roman Age between the 3rd and 4th centuries as a commercial, legal and artistic center.

Ancient texts indicate that the basilica cistern contained gardens surrounded by a colonnade that faced the Hagia Sophia. According to ancient historians, Emperor Constantine built a structure that was later reconstructed and enlarged by Emperor Justinian. Historical texts claim that 7,000 slaves were involved in the construction of the cistern.

We completed our underground tour of the Basilica Cistern and returned back to the hotel to rest up. A nap was on my priority list. I skipped lunch to rest while Karen went for a walk to the bank to get more Turkish Lira, run errands, stop for lunch and Turkish coffee. I spent the better part of the afternoon resting.

Later that day we all reconnected and returned to the Dubb Ethnic restaurant for our last dinner in Istanbul. Thursday, October 23 we would leave on Turkish Airlines for our next destination ..... Cappodocia, Istanbul. Cappadocia, a semi-arid region in central Turkey, is known for its distinctive “fairy chimneys,” tall, cone-shaped rock formations. Stay tuned for that adventure!