Next to the Çemberlitaş tram stop, in a pigeon-packed plaza, you'll find one of the city's most ancient monuments: a column known as the Çemberlitaş that was erected by Constantine to celebrate the dedication of 'New Rome' (Constantinople) as capital of the Roman Empire in 330.
The column was placed in what was the grand Forum of Constantine and was topped by a statue of the great emperor himself in the guise of Apollo. It lost its crowning statue of Constantine in 1106 and was damaged in the 1779 fire that ravaged the nearby Grand Bazaar. Recently restored, it is a strange-looking remnant of the city's Roman past.
Also in this vicinity is the historic Çemberlitaş Hamamı .
