752 
HIPPODROME. 
are now transformed into a menagerie for the Sultan’s wild beasts ; 
and not far from it, occupying one corner of the Maidan, stands 
another solemn-looking edifice. It is built on an artificial eleva¬ 
tion, formed by successive ranges of arches, the work of the 
emperors, to serve the double purpose of bringing that part level 
with the Hippodrome to support some of its attendant build¬ 
ings, and to contain one of the great cisterns of the city. The 
structure in question has a monastic appearance, and the part 
which resembles a cloister is dedicated to the reception of Os- 
manlee lunatics. These wretched beings are loaded with heavy 
chains, and confined in neglected, therefore, loathsome cells, 
open to the eye of the passenger, but secured in front with bars 
of iron. I was glad to see no more than four maniacs in this 
comfortless place. In Persia, madness is rare ; but here, I am 
told, the malady is common. I soon turned from the melan¬ 
choly spectacle, to the few relics of antiquity yet marking the 
ground of the Hippodrome. They consist of three. The first, 
standing in the center of the spot, is the Egyptian obelisk brought 
from Thebes, and placed here by order of Theodosius the Elder. 
It is formed of a single block of reddish granite, in length 
something between fifty and sixty feet, and covered with hiero¬ 
glyphics. Its base rests on four brass balls, which raise it clear 
from a pedestal of white marble, measuring about six feet in 
height. This addition to the old Egyptian mass, has its four 
sides also sculptured, but in a manner that reflects little credit 
on the artist, or the imperial taste which allowed it to stand. 
One side represents the emperor and his family seated together, 
and attended by his court and guards, viewing the games in the 
Hippodrome; all these persons are huddled in one confused 
group, without distinction or proportion. On the corresponding 
