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April 28, 2009
Porphyry Column of Constantine
My life story - I walk up to famous, tall thing only to find it scaffolded (see Freiburg Münsterturm).
This elaborate scaffolding surrounds Constantine's Porphyry Column, now known as the Burnt Column - Çemberlitas in Turkish (and I can't get the little thingy to come out on the final s, sorry). From a distance I could see the porphyry surface, at least.
The Romans carefully placed it on the main street, running along a ridge top, from forum to forum. The elevation - along with it's own enormous height something like 110 feet - means that it is visible from the Sea of Marmora and the Golden Horn. Constantine topped it with an enormous statue of himself as the Sun. That's Constantine all over.
I walked around it several times, then finally spotted the inconspicuous entrance to the Çemberlitas Hamam. Gosh that was pleasant, but it was all for knowledge - Sinan designed the building! Click here and look at the images of the dome.
Posted by CrankyProfessor at April 28, 2009 6:40 AM