A visit here is a cool and quiet break from the busy Istanbul streets.

This large marble face is the base of a support column.

There are a number of other cisterns in the area, including a romantic restaurant called, strangely enough, the Cistern Restaurant (Taverna Restaurant Sarnic). The restaurant is at the north end of Sogukcesme Sokak (Street of the Cold Fountain).

Hey, it's been around since the 330. It's bound to collect a few names.

The center of the Hippodrome has a number of monuments. The Hippodrome has been the location of more than its share of riots, revolutions, large scale slaughter, and that sort of thing.

Watch your back.

The Obelisk was carved in about 1500 BC, erected in Egypt, stolen by Emperor Theodosius in 390, and subsequently erected here.

Theodosius had a base carved in his honor.

The base hasn't weathered the past 1600 years very well, but the column itself looks pretty sharp.

Not much is known about this monument, other than parts were looted during the Fourth Crusade.

Ibrahim Pasa was Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent's aide-de-camp, vizier, and eventually his serasker (commander-in-chief). Then, well, he was executed in 1536.

A great location for a palace though.

A few more pictures of Istanbul's monuments.