The Hippodrome of Istanbul / Constantinople: An Illustrated Handbook of its History

Allan Langdale truly made the structures and surroundings of Istanbul's Hippodrome come alive for me with this book. It was as if he was in the room talking with me. I felt the histories coming out of the stones and soil of the ancient site, learning fascinating details of Byzantine society and the lives and professions of the charioteers and their factions along the way. The book contains many useful photographs both recent and from earlier in the 20th century, which importantly contrasts signs of critical wear that is occurring at sites such as the Hippodrome. The inclusion of many diagrams also enhanced my understanding of the Hippodrome.I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants more insight into the early equestrian sport as well as this particular structure as it fades into our modern world. Reading this was a fulfilling experience and I look forward to more work like The Hippodrome of Constantinople/Istanbul from this well-traveled and truly fine storyteller, Allan Langdale.

Most travel books are overviews of a destination. If you were to look on Amazon.com, you would probably find 50 different travel guides to Istanbul. This beautiful paperback book however belongs to a different category of travel book. It is laser focused as a “deep dive“ to one very specific monument. By reading and learning in detail the history of this important monument you end up acquiring a tremendous breadth of knowledge and love for Constantinople and its context within modern Istanbul.The author approaches this from a combination of love of subject but also with academic objective documentation.You will appreciate why this is as important as the Blue Mosque or The Hague Sophia

This is a beautifully illustrated and fascinating book. In fewer than 200 pages, Langdale skillfully uses Istanbul's hippodrome to trace the history of this great city from the start of hippodrome construction around 200 CE to today. From idolized charioteers (and their horses) to partisan riots and early cheerleaders, it's an exciting tale.

Just what I was looking for.

This is what used to be known as a "monograph," addressing a single topic. The book's title says it all. Got it at the public library when it first arrived there. Other public libraries might like it.The book is not really a travelogue, nor is it travel writing in the usual sense. You won't get a grand tour of Istanbul, suggestions about where to eat, or the author's personal tale of adventures. You will get just barely enough background history so that you can understand the topic in question, along with more specific historical events as the book progresses, as needed to explain items.In modern large-arena sports, at least in the USA, you have privately financed teams that put on a rah-rah patriotic display before they start, and maybe meet the President if they win a big tournament. But in the Roman Empire (here, Byzantium), the only significant sporting event was chariot racing in the hippodrome, and it was financed by the Emperor, either for ritual reasons or as a show of wealth and power.Nevertheless, they had teams with color uniforms, fans, hooligans, cheerleaders, gambling, organ music, and food vendors (but not taco trucks). Also the occasional riot. Just like modern times.All this is explained via numerous photographs of the remaining stone works at the hippodrome, which in their own era illustrated how things worked. If you were to go to Istanbul, you could see these; but I doubt that many tourists would inspect the masonry that closely, or understand its significance without detailed explanation. In this book, the story of the masonry is bolstered by quotations from written accounts of the era, not all of which are reliable (as the author notes).Written and illustrated for the general reader.