Night Walk Around Sultanahmet Square

After returning from Ortakoy, despite having walked most of the way, I found the strength to take a tripod and go for a night photo shoot. I didn't think twice about choosing a place, so I went to Sultanahmet Meydanı, which was located two blocks from my hotel.

First of all, on the night square, attention is drawn to a large fountain, the jets of which are illuminated with bright colors.

Here I quickly found a good point of shooting, where the fountain, Ayyasofiya Mosque (left) and Roksolana Baths were included in the frame. Despite the late hour, there were a lot of people who wanted to capture the same angle, so I couldn't get any shots without the "ghosts".

Then I went through the north gate to the courtyard of the Sultanahmet Mosque.

During the day, this gigantic building has a gray color, but at night it gets a blue tint, justifying its unofficial name Blue Mosque.

I went through the main portal of the mosque to the Hippodrome Square (At Meydanı).

Egyptian obelisks and a bronze Snake column have been preserved here since ancient times. This rarity is located in depressions, showing the thickness of the cultural layer formed since the foundation of Constantinople. Historians believe that the Snake Column was brought from Greece to his new capital in 324 by Emperor Constantine himself. And the column itself was cast in 479 BC from the weapons of the Persians defeated in the battle of Plataea.

Then I went to Mehmet Akif Ersoy Park, adjacent to Sultanahmet Square to the west. Here is a small mosque Firuz Agha built in 1491.

Finally, I went to the gate of the Topkapi Palace, where there is a masterpiece of Ottoman Rococo-the Fountain of Ahmet III (Ahmet III Çeşmesi), built in 1728. It was completely deserted, and the square and streets surrounding the fountain were completely dark.