Sphendone Remains

The Sphendone is the massive, curved stone retaining wall that holds up the southern end of what used to be the Hippodrome of Constantinople. You can spot it by the way it drops sharply from the street level down into the neighborhood, a long, sturdy arc of ancient brick and limestone. When the chariot races were the heart of city life, this wall kept the track from sliding down the steep hillside toward the Sea of Marmara.