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
Hippodrome of Berytus at Berytus fell into disuse and disrepair. Later -under Arab rule- its stones were reused for the construction of other buildings while it was subsequently mined, according to archeologist Lee Levine, but its outline remained sufficiently clear in the 20th century for identification as a hippodrome by the archaeologist Robert du Mesnil du Buisson. Its groundworks were partially excavated in 1988. An approximately 90-meter section of wall has been uncovered, alongside the straight, and foundations of seating tiers at the semi-circular end. The hippodrome site is near the Maghen Abraham Synagogue in Wadi Abu Jamil, the historic, Jewish quarter of