In Byzantine times, this square was called the Forum of Theodosius. Today it's home to street vendors, students from the adjoining İstanbul University and plenty of pigeons. The main structures are the Beyazıt Mosque and the various buildings that originally formed part of its külliye (mosque complex). These include a medrese (seminary; currently closed for restoration); an imaret (soup kitchen) and kervansaray (caravanserai) complex now housing the magnificent Beyazıt State Library; and a handsome double hamam now housing the Turkish Hamam Culture Museum.
After the Conquest, Mehmet the Conqueror built his first palace here, a wooden structure called the Eski Sarayı (Old Seraglio). After Topkapı was built, the Eski Sarayı became home to women when they were pensioned out of the main palace – this was where valide sultans (mothers of the reigning sultans) came when their sultan sons died and they lost their powerful position as head of the harem. The original building was demolished in the 19th century to make way for a grandiose Ministry of War complex designed by Auguste Bourgeois; this now houses the university.
The 85m-tall Beyazıt Tower in its grounds sits on top of one of the seven hills on which Constantine the Great built the city, following the model of Rome. Commissioned by Mahmut II, the stone tower was designed by Senekerim Balyan and built in 1828 in the same location as a previous wooden tower. The tower was used by the İstanbul Fire Department to spot fires until 1993. The coloured lights on it indicate weather conditions – blue for clear and sunny, green for rain, yellow for fog and red for snow.
Both the university and tower are off limits to travellers.
