Do you really know the monuments of Sultanahmet?

Talha Uğurluel

The German fountain was commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm II

to honor the friendship between the Ottomans and the Germans.

(Photo: Today's Zaman)

This week we continue our tour around Sultanahmet Square. But this time, let's listen to some more stories about the history surrounding some of the monuments that call this place home. What, for example, are some of the things that have happened to the famous Yılanlı Taş, or Snake Column, which has witnessed both Aristotle and Alexander the Great in its lifetime? Or how about the story behind the German Fountain? And where now are all the statues that have been stolen from this square over the years?

Last week we told the founding story of the Hippodrome. We touched on efforts by the Roman Emperor Constantine and Theodosios to decorate Sultanahmet Square with a diversity of monuments and statues. We focused especially on the story surrounding the Dikilitaş, discussing what the different faces of its pedestal tell us about history and the city.

Alright, but what is this stone we call Dikilitaş, and what stands upon this pedestal? The truth is that it is really the oldest hand-wrought piece of art in all of İstanbul. It was shaped around 1500 B.C. on orders of the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III. But why was this large stone brought here, and what was inscribed upon it?

Ancient Egyptian society believed, of course, in life after death. There were thus great efforts poured into the hereafter, with serious shrines made to the transition to a coming life. On either side of the main entrances to these shrines would stand two large marble stones. The pointed ends of the stones would be covered in gold, with inscriptions dedicated to the Egyptian deity Amun-Ra among the top figures and decorations.

But for what was all this intended? According to the ancient Egyptians, it was about being reborn into real life. Since they worshipped the sun, believing that it was in fact the greatest of all gods, they also believed that after death, they would be nourished by its rays. The first rays of the morning sun would always hit the highest points first, in other words, the top of the Dikilitaş. Then, as the sun would rise, its rays would head downwards, lighting up the inscriptions running from the top to the bottom of the stone. The rays would finally come to the round cartridge where the Pharaoh's name was written. And in this way, the rays from Amun-Ra would nourish the soul.

The oldest resident of İstanbul

Pharaoh Thuthmose ordered large marble monument stones carved in his name, and the Romans dug them up and brought them up to Constantinople. Years later, the Ottomans still had not touched these stone monuments, leaving them and protecting them instead in these ancient squares. And the very oldest of these still remains in İstanbul, witnessing all that unfolds around it. Just imagine what it would say if it could only talk -- from the beginning of its adventure in ancient Egypt to being taken out of the ground by the Romans and brought to Constantinople on a special ship to being replanted once again by Theodosios. And then, of course, everything it has witnessed in its “new” home, from the suppression of the Nika uprising by Emperor Justinian to the conquest of the city by Fatih, the circumcision ceremonies held for children by Sultan Süleyman, the Janissary uprisings and so much more.

From Greece to İstanbul

A bit beyond the Dikilitaş, we move towards the second old witness of history in this square. It doesn't look like much at first glance -- just a column, like some sort of old post. Its popular name in Turkish is Yılanlı Taş, or Snake Stone. Actually though, it's not even stone, but instead a monument made from bronze. And it was brought here by Emperor Constantine from the famous Temple of Apollo at Delphi, Greece. It should be noted that there are two great temples to Apollo to begin with: at Delphi and in Didim, Turkey. This monument has also witnessed a great degree of interesting history. It was originally a victory monument made from the bronze weapons that had belonged to Persian soldiers who were defeated by Greek soldiers when the former tried to invade Greek lands.

The monument itself is in the form of three snakes, which are intertwined and face outwards. Over the heads of these snakes is the image of a golden vase, symbolic of the defeat of the Persians. The monument was erected and remained at Delphi for many centuries. And one must consider all that the monument witnessed while in Delphi, including the great teacher Aristotle and even Alexander the Great, who was instructed by Aristotle in Delphi. But what happened that brought this great monument to the state in which it stands in today?

In fact, it was Latin invasions that caused the first great damage not only to this monument, but to the square in general. In 1204, during the Fourth Crusade, invaders decided to take a detour on their way to Jerusalem and headed to İstanbul. As a result, this historical square was to encounter the greatest round of looting and pillaging it was ever to experience. The attackers were Catholic Christians; those under attack were Orthodox Christians.

Actually, those curious about how Fatih was able to enter İstanbul all those years ago should first examine how it was that the Catholics were able to make their way in with such force. And those who accuse Fatih and his forces of looting should first learn what looting and pillaging really amounted to from these Latin invasions. It was not just homes and people, but even churches -- including the Hagia Sophia -- which were targeted in attacks. From the rapes of hundreds of nuns to the burning of the previously interred bones of former Roman emperors, it was a wide span of damage that was done by these forces. Which is why, in fact, that at the time when Fatih's forces surrounded the city its Christian residents all agreed: “Better the turban than the mitre.”

These crazed forces wound up attacking many of the monuments in the Hippodrome, some of them being torn from where they stood, others being stolen and taken back to the foreign lands from whence the groups came. Some of them had the metals that were affixed to them ripped off and melted down for money. These attacks wound up damaging the Snake Column, which had its golden vase removed and melted.

Snake head in London

But what happened to the heads of the snakes? In many Ottoman miniatures, we see images of these snakes. While it was not certain, it was thought that the snake heads fell off either during some Janissary uprisings or perhaps even as the result of being hit by lightening. For years and years, no one knew anything about where those bronze snake heads might be. That is, until the years when the British troops came to occupy İstanbul. The British wound up conducting various secret digs in Sultanahmet Square and came across a chin belonging to one of the bronze snake heads buried in the ground. During the same digs, they also found a statue of a scarab insect. These remains can now be found in the British Museum in London.

During the 1950s, under Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, the square was to be the target of renovations, and more digs were to reveal the top of one of the snake's heads. This was probably the top part of the chin part that was found and carried off to London.

Pieces carried off from the Hippodrome

The so-called Quadrika found atop the entrance gateway to the square is made up of the famous statues of four horses which were ripped away and taken to Venice. Today, these four horses stand before the St. Mark's Basilica. A golden statue of a dragon also stolen from the square was taken by Norwegians who were among the looters and given to their king at the time. For years, it decorated the helm of the Royal Ship of Norway. Later, it was taken as war booty by the Belgians, and brought to the Belgian city of Ghent, where it was placed on a tower there. It continues to stand on the Belfort tower as decoration and witness to a long and rich history.

Sultanahmet's newest monument: the German Fountain

When the Ottoman state and the Germans came closer in the 1880s, German Kaiser Wilhelm II visited İstanbul. On his second visit to the city, he decided to have a fountain built honoring the friendship between the two lands. The fountain thus boasts monograms and signets reflecting both Kaiser Wilhelm II and Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II.

Örmetaş, the ‘Woven Stone'

The third most important monument in this historic square today is the Örmetaş, which unlike the other monuments in the square, was actually created in these lands rather than brought in from elsewhere. It was most likely built by the Romans during the era of Basil I. The monument has a thick bronze covering on it, and is very bright and attractive. In fact, there were images of Basil in heroic acts on the bronze, though these were melted down by attackers during the Crusades.

Published on Today's Zaman, 14 February 2013, Thursday

Posted in: Istanbul, Travel