Istanbul: Sultanahmet, Blue Mosque, and Hippodrome Walking Tour

The German Fountain (Turkish: Alman Çeşmesi; German: Deutscher Brunnen) is a gazebo styled fountain in the northern end of the former Hippodrome of Constantinople (Sultanahmet Square) in Istanbul and across from the Mausoleum of Sultan Ahmed I. It was constructed to commemorate the second anniversary of German Emperor Wilhelm II's visit to Istanbul in 1898. It was built in Germany, then transported piece by piece and assembled on its current site in 1900. The neo-Byzantine style fountain's octagonal dome has eight marble columns, and dome's interior is covered with golden mosaics.

Although the Hippodrome is usually associated with Constantinople's days of glory as an imperial capital, it actually predates that era. The first Hippodrome was built when the city was called Byzantium, and was a provincial town of moderate importance. In AD 203 the Emperor Septimius Severus rebuilt the city and expanded its walls, endowing it with a hippodrome, an arena for chariot races and other entertainment.

Today it is a square in Istanbul, Turkey, known as Sultanahmet Square (Turkish: Sultanahmet Meydanı).

The Blue Mosque, also known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Turkish: Sultanahmet Camii), is an Ottoman-era historical imperial mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey. It was constructed between 1609 and 1617 during the rule of Ahmed I. It attracts a large number of tourists and is one of the most iconic and popular monuments of Ottoman architecture.