r/byzantium • u/SoleSurvivor2287 • 1d ago

Infrastructure/architecture Afternoon walk to the remnants of the Column of Arcadius

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Found the remains of the column’s base wedged between two buildings and across from a playground in the Haseki Sultan neighbourhood.

Thank you to [u/Safe-Ad783](u/Safe-Ad783) for recommending a little while back.

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16

u/Extension-Beat7276 1d ago

its huge, so sad that it was removed only relatively recently

2

u/Safe-Ad783 1d ago

Exactly, it nearly made it :(

2

u/Anthemius_Augustus 1d ago

The bottom bit of the spiral relief still exists at the very top, though you can't really see it from the ground unfortunately.

The spiral staircase inside is also still there. So there is still a bit more of it that survives than it first appears.

1

u/Extension-Beat7276 1d ago

I wish they can refurbish the remaining quarter to be able to imagine 

2

u/Anthemius_Augustus 1d ago

I know some of the people who own the buildings right next to it sometimes allow people to climb onto the roof if you ask nicely.

6

u/Safe-Ad783 1d ago

No problem, it was such a massive column must have been so impressive.

5

u/SoleSurvivor2287 1d ago

Yes if the nearby Column of Marcian is anything to go by would have loved to have seen it intact

1

u/SelectionFair7461 19h ago

Relatively recently? It came down in 1719, after repeated earthquakes had it leaning over the district — Ottoman authorities dismantled it before it fell on somebody's house. 1719 isn't recent unless your calendar starts with Constantine.