Hippodrome of Constantinople Hippodrome of Constantinople The Hippodrome of Constantinople () was a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square named "Sultanahmet Meydanı" ("Sultan Ahmet Square") in the Turkish city of Istanbul, with a few fragments of the original structure surviving. The word "hippodrome" comes from the Greek "hippos" (), horse, and "dromos" (δρόμος), path or way. For this reason, it is sometimes also called "Atmeydanı" ("Horse Square") in Turkish. Horse racing and chariot racing were popular pastimes in the ancient world and hippodromes were common features of Greek cities
Beirut Hippodrome The Israeli army occupied the hippodrome during the Invasion of Lebanon in 1982.The Israeli army entered the hippodrome on August 4. The hippodrome also hosts annual The Garden Show & Spring Festival, which attracts more than 160 exhibitors and over 24,000 international visitors. At the 2012 Garden Show & Spring Festival, the French rose producer, Meilland International, presented to the public the Beirut Rose, which was cultivated in tribute to Lebanon’s capital. Beirut Hippodrome Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, is home to two hippodromes, a historic one from the Roman era and a modern one that was built in the