Istanbul's Hidden Byzantine Ruins

Almost everyone who visits Istanbul sees the same few relics of Byzantine Constantinople. Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, and, of course, the Hippodrome. But if you know where to look, the city of Constantine and Justinian lies waiting everywhere, hidden in plain sight. A short distance from Hagia Sophia and the Hippodrome is the so-called House of Four Eras, famous for the almost geological layering of its rear façade. The granite columns at the base belong to a late Roman cistern. The arches above are Byzantine. Over these are part of an Ottoman bath and a house built shortly after the foundation of modern Turkey. What's most remarkable about the House of Four Eras is how unremarkable it is. As I discussed in my previous video on the hidden ruins of Constantinople, linked in the description, Istanbul stands on the ruins of its Greek, Roman, and Byzantine predecessors. The palimpsest is most visible in Sultanahmet, one of the oldest parts of the city. For a millennium, most of what is now the Sultanahmet district was covered by the Great Palace of the Byzantine Emperors. Begun by Constantine, the Great Palace developed into a sprawling complex of pavilions, gardens, and chapels. Already abandoned by the time of the Ottoman conquest, its ruins were gradually submerged beneath a bustling Turkish neighborhood. Parts of the Great Palace resurfaced after the Great Fire of 1912. Although most of the remains were soon covered by new construction, one section, which seems to have connected the imperial apartments with the Hippodrome, was excavated and opened to visitors as the Great Palace Mosaic Museum. Other parts of the palace have been exposed by more or less unofficial digs in the basements of local businesses, most prominently the Four Seasons Hotel, which is housed in the former Sultanahmet prison. Other fragments, like this masonry stump, are found whenever a new building is constructed. The most visible remains on the surface belong to the Meghnora, the part of the Great Palace in which ambassadors were customarily received and where the hydraulic Throne of was located. Besides the basilica-shaped throne room, the Meghnora included a bridal chamber, a bath, and a church, none of which have been conclusively located. Among the bars and hotels of Akboyuk Street, however, one of the Meghnora's ramp towers, a structure that connected the various levels of the palace, still stands to the height of three stories. After decades as a sock factory, the ramp tower was rather crudely restored in the 1990s. There are plans to develop it as a museum or restaurant. Behind the ramp tower, along Kutlugun Street, more of the Meghnora was uncovered in the 90s. Since then, unfortunately, the site has languished behind a construction fence. Some of the Byzantine walls have been insensitively restored with modern brick and rebar, a practice that recalls the crude restoration of the Theodosian walls in the same era. Like so many of Istanbul's ruins, this part of the Great Palace seems to be caught in the uneasy limbo between preservation and reuse. It probably won't escape anytime soon. We'll explore more hidden ruins after a brief word about this video's sponsor. You don't have to visit Istanbul to see Byzantine remains. Courtesy of Kinzer Coins, you can have Byzantium delivered right to your door. Kinzer Coins offers a wide range of ancient and medieval coins, all authentic and carefully attributed. For viewers of Toledon Stone, a free late Roman bronze coin will be included with every order while supplies last. History enthusiasts interested in learning about coin collecting will find helpful advice and resources in the Collector's Academy section of the Kinzer Coins website. To hold a piece of history and get your free coin, visit KinzerCoins.com and use the code TOLEDONSTONE. Returning to our topic, a short walk from the remains of the Meghnora is another overlooked memento of the Byzantine city. The famous Hippodrome of Constantinople was demolished for building material in the early Ottoman period, leaving only a few of the monuments that stood on its spina. Relatively few visitors realize, however, that the massive foundations of the spendone, the hippodrome's curved end, are still visible. Although the arcaded seating structure and the colonnade that crowned it have vanished, the brick substructures remain, now supporting the of a late Ottoman school. Beneath lies a large and well-preserved Byzantine cistern, which still holds water. It likely dates to the 5th century, when the spendone's vaults were walled off after an earthquake. Almost within sight of the spendone is Istanbul's oldest continuously functioning sacred building. Now a mosque known as Küçük Ayasofya, little Hagia Sophia, it was originally the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, built by Justinian at the beginning of his reign. Although the atrium and much of the decoration disappeared in the Ottoman era, the building is otherwise intact. Centrally planned and crowned by a dome, the former church retains its columns of fine imported marble. The capitals, like those Hagia Sophia, are carved with the monograms of Justinian and Theodora. The frieze between the first and second stories bears a long Greek inscription praising the imperial couple and, almost incidentally, Saint Sergius. The interior would have been even more impressive in the Byzantine era, when marble sheathed the walls and the dome glowed with golden mosaics. The ablution fountain in the courtyard appears to have been fashioned from a Byzantine sarcophagus, a neat epitome of the building's double life. On the other side of Istanbul's historic center, next to the Grand Bazaar, another Byzantine sarcophagus lies just behind Nurasmaniye Mosque. Made of Egyptian porphyry, it originated in the imperial mausoleum attached to the Church of the Presumably, the sarcophagus was brought here to be cut up for building material. Somehow, it escaped that fate. A few minutes' walk from the porphyry sarcophagus is the Ringstone Hotel, whose management generously allowed me to explore the Byzantine cistern behind their building. There are more than 200 Byzantine cisterns under Istanbul, many of which have never been professionally surveyed or documented. Though partially collapsed, this example preserves the wellhead through which water was drawn. What appear to be the foundations of a Byzantine church or baptistery survive on top. There isn't much to see inside, just the brick vaults that supported the roof. Originally, the cistern would have been filled almost to the top with water. Now it's just used for storage, a relatively common second career in a city where Byzantine cisterns have been repurposed into everything from bars to auto repair shops. The wall of modern brick on one side suggests that part of the cistern is still buried. But besides basic reinforcement and consolidation, the cleared section seems to have changed little since this fragment of Byzantine Constantinople came to light. If you'd like to join me in exploring some other overlooked ruins, from the piers of the longest Roman bridge to the tunnels of a perfectly preserved Roman gold mine, check out my June 2027 tour of Romania, linked in the description. Due to overwhelming demand, I've added a new departure for my Roman ruins of Tunisia tour. You'll find a link below. My new book, Leaky Aqueducts, Battle Pigeons, and Mystery Cults, is now available in both hardcover and paperback. You'll find additional content, including my recent interview with Tom Hiddleston, on the Tolandstone Patreon. Finally, don't forget my other channels, Tolandstone Footnotes and Scenic Routes to the Past. Thanks for watching.