istanbul

One of the smallest of the restoration projects was undertaken in the Fatih area in 2005 by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, a year after Topbaş took over. This was the Kıztaşı (Girl’s Stone) or to be accurate, the Column of Marcian, one of four columns remaining from the Roman era in Constantinople / Istanbul.

The Marcian Column, which is a few streets to the right of the Aqueduct of Valens (You can find it on Google Earth.), and consists of a single red-grey granite column topped with a marble column head on it and a square marble plinth block seated on a three-stepped platform. It is noted for the three Greek crosses inside stone medallions, which also include two faces of angels or genii or possibly the Greek goddess of victory, Nike.

We know that it was dedicated to the Emperor Marcian because of the extant inscription on it that reads, “This statue of the princes Marcian / because Tatianus vowed the work.” Tatianus was governor of the city of Constantinople and it is not surprising that he erected such a commemorative item because Marcian was one of the most successful emperors the Roman Empire had the good fortune to produce, even as it was nearing decline. It is likely that his statue was on top of the column.

[Some think that the column acquired its name from the two faces on it while others suggest that it got its name from the Slave Market located here in Ottoman times. We know little about the slave market other than, if you had to be sold for whatever reason, this one in Istanbul was considered a good place, relatively speaking, to be put on the auction block. There were wealthy buyers and beautiful women could have found themselves living in the sultan's harem with the chance of bearing a son and future sultan. The market was closed in 1846 as a result of pressure brought to bear by the British and it is very doubtful that anyone these days would propose resurrecting it, even for tourism. Quite a few novelists over the years though have thought they could depict it accurately.]

The column actually disappeared from public view as it was located in the garden of a private house. It wasn’t rediscovered until after a fire at the beginning of the 20th century. The column suffered in the fire and has been damaged further, most recently in 1999, by earthquake. It began to lean and the metal bands circling it had separated from the stone. Increased traffic had also hastened the destruction as had the air pollution.

Restoration attempts had already started in the 1970s after the top of the column was noticeably cracked and in danger of falling. The 2005 restoration was to be a complete one that would take all aspects into account including revealing the column drums that remain underground.  Ayten Erdem and Rabia Ozakin, experts in architectural restoration at Yildiz Technical University have been particularly critical of what was done and believe that many of the details escaped the attention of those carrying out the latest restoration.

Send article as PDF to

Tags:Marcian Column, Marcianus Column