Beyazit Square

Beyazit Mosque from Beyazit Square by davefitch

When constructed in 393 AD during the reign of Emperor Theodosius, it was the biggest square in the city. Originally named as Form Tauri, die to the bronze bull heads in the victory cases in the middle, today only a few marble blocks and columns remain, on which the statue of the Emperor rises. At the north end was the first palace constructed by Fatih, and is now Istanbul University. The monumental gate at the university’s entrance, and the fire tower, date back to the 19th century.

The square which decorates the 15th century Beyazit Mosque (the oldest surviving imperial mosque in the city) lies adjacent to the crowded Kapali Carsi (Covered Market).

Beyazit Square was built in 393 during the reign of Theodosius I as the largest square in the city. There was a gigantic triumphal arch in the center decorated by bronze bull heads, hence the name "Forum Tauri" (Square of Bulls).

A few marble blocks and column fragments have been found from the triumphal arch, which was crowned with the statue of the emperor, but nothing remains from the monumental fountain in the northern part of the square. Water to this, the largest fountain in the city, was supplied by means of the Aqueduct of Valens. To the north, the campus of the University of Istanbul now occupies the ground on which Mehmet the Conqueror built his first palace. The monumental gate of the university and the fire lookout tower in the garden are from the 19th century. The present-day name of the square derives from the Beyazit Mosque, which was built in the 15th century. The mosque, neighboring the always crowded and lively Covered Bazaar, used to have a complex of surrounding buildings, but only the medrese, the baths and some of the shops remain today.