Hippodrome Square, now known as Sultanahmet Square, should be the starting point of your journey to the past through the streets of Istanbul because it was once the cultural center of Constantinople which was the capital city of the Byzantine Empire. The people of Byzantine would go there to meet with their emperor and gather in the Hippodrome for sports events and celebrations. Although the Hippodrome building didn’t survive Ottoman occupation, the statues there, such as Serpent Column, Obelisk of Thutmose III, Walled Obelisk, and Statues of Porphyrios, are very well preserved and can be visited in nearby Sultanahmet Square.