Daily Istanbul Tour – from Mese to Divan Yolu
‘The Road to the Imperial Council’ from Sultanahmet Square to Beyazit Square is an enjoyable Istanbul history lesson during Daily Istanbul Tour.
Divan Yolu, the “Road to the Imperial Council,” was once the imperial road from Constantinople to Rome (map). It takes its Turkish name from Ottoman times, when it was in fact the “Road to the Imperial Council” (Divan) in Topkapi Palace.
When it was laid out by Constantine the Great in the early 300s AD; Divan Yolu (dee-vahn yoh-loo) was the Mese. It was the main boulevard leading from the city centre on Seraglio Point to the Golden Gate in the city walls; where it met the road to Rome.
The beginning point of the Mese was marked by the Milion; a grand monumental structure called a ‘tetrapylon’ (‘four-tower’); four towers at the corners of a square footing, topped by a dome.
