Rıza Bulut

I trained as a guide specifically around the Hippodrome's obelisks, a detail most tours mention only in passing on the way to Hagia Sophia or the Blue Mosque nearby. On camera I like holding the frame on the hieroglyphs of the Egyptian Obelisk long enough for viewers to actually see them, since most visitors walk past without looking closely. I try to explain how a column from ancient Egypt ended up in the middle of an Ottoman square, a detail I find more surprising every time I tell it. I answer most questions about the square's other monuments as we go.