Walled Obelisk – Sultanahmet Square

The Walled Obelisk is one of the three surviving monuments of the ancient Hippodrome of Constantinople, located today in Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul. Standing near the Egyptian Obelisk and the Serpent Column, the monument remains an important reminder of the city’s Byzantine past.

The exact date of construction of the Walled Obelisk is uncertain, and historians do not know precisely who originally built it. However, historical sources indicate that it was restored during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (913–959) in the 10th century. Because of this restoration, the monument is sometimes associated with his name.

The Walled Obelisk rises approximately 32 meters high and is constructed from large blocks of stone of varying sizes. Unlike the Egyptian Obelisk nearby, which is carved from a single piece of granite, the Walled Obelisk has a rougher structure formed by stacked stone blocks.

In its original form, the monument was covered with bronze plates decorated with gold, which reflected sunlight and made the obelisk shine brightly above the Hippodrome. However, these bronze coverings were removed and looted during the Fourth Crusade in 1204, when Latin crusaders captured and plundered Constantinople.

Today, the Walled Obelisk stands as a silent witness to the long history of Byzantine Constantinople and Ottoman Istanbul. Visitors walking through Sultanahmet Square can see the monument alongside other historic structures that once decorated the Hippodrome, the grand arena where chariot races, imperial ceremonies, and public events were held for centuries.

Although simpler in appearance than the Egyptian Obelisk, the Walled Obelisk remains an important historical landmark that reflects the rich and layered history of Istanbul.