Cemberlitas - This area, located on the site where an ancient Forum of Constantine. Of all the buildings of this complex partially survived only Column of Constantine. This column has long considered the main symbol of the Byzantine Empire. It was erected by order of the Emperor Constantine on May 11, in honor of the 330 conquest of 18 September 324, the city of Byzantium. It happened on November 8th 324, during the celebrations and about the proclamation of the new capital of the Roman Empire - Constantinople. From the very beginning it was a pedestal for the statue of the emperor. This column was a central element in the grand square, which also were placed Colonnade, statues of Christian saints and pagan gods.

Currently, she is called "Cemberlitas" (which translates as "Rock with hoops"). The only picture of this column, which has been preserved and has reached our times, dates back to the year 1574 and kept in the library of Trinity College in the English city of Cambridge. By the construction can be reached if you walk from Sultanahmet Square in the direction of the Grand Bazaar and the Istanbul area Beyyazet Divan Yolu Street.

It was erected in the center of the Forum of Constantine, who at that time was built on the first hill of the city, just behind the defensive walls of the old Byzantine Empire. Then this forum was an oval-shaped area surrounded by an imposing marble colonnade, which had two monumental gate, facing west and east of the city. It is decorated with many beautiful antique statues, the location of which can not be determined now.

The column is designed as a truncated regular four-pyramid built on the basis of five-meter, made of porphyry. She was the chair column is having a square shape and decorated with bas-relief. The trunk, which had a height of twenty-five meters, consisted of seven drums with a diameter of about three meters. Drums of metal hoops covered with gilded bronze wreaths closed. All the drums were also porphyry, but eight - it was made of marble. Crowned with majestic building marble capital. On the abacus capitals it was erected a golden statue of the emperor as a god Apollo, fusing it with a nail from the cross of the Son of God. For this reason, the inhabitants of the city of Constantinople was initially started to call this architectural monument "Nail Column." The height of the monument is about 38 meters.

During the earthquake of 600 - 601 years, which occurred at the end of the reign of Emperor Maurice, a statue of Constantine the Great collapsed, with quite severely damaged itself Column .  It was completely restored during the reign of Emperor Heraclius (610 - 641 years), and in 1081 - 1118 years, when Emperor Alexius I, the statue once again fell to the ground from getting into the lightning and crushed several passersby .  The monument was restored only during the reign of Emperor Manuel I (1143 - 1180 years), but soon there was another collapse of the statue, and it was replaced by a cross .  After this event, the monument was given a new colloquial name - "Column of the Cross" .  Later, after 1204, this facility is quite affected by the actions of the Crusaders .  The foundation has been weakened by its galleries, which were dug in order to find the relics, and the bas-relief was removed and taken to Western Europe .  At the present time, part of which Turks call "Tetrarch", it was embedded in the wall of the Cathedral of St. Mark's in Venice .

Already in the second half of the XX century, during excavations made in Constantinople, was found the missing piece of the bas-relief, which is now kept in the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul. After the fall of Constantinople, which took place in early June 1453 the Turks threw the cross with this column.

In 1779, a large fire, which occurred in the vicinity of the area, destroyed most of the buildings, and the column then left black spots on the fire. The column was nicknamed "Burnt column" after the event. On the orders of the Sultan Abdyulhamida I Cemberlitas I have been restored and it made a new masonry foundations. Iron hoops were replaced with new ones. This allowed the column to hold the next century, in an upright position. The first base of the column was located about 3 meters below the current level. This means that the column, which is presented for observation travelers today is, actually, only a part of the original structure.

Egemen Haluk Sarikaya - Turkish parapsychologist in one of his works written on this column as follows: "As every sacred building, Cemberlitas, probably due to an underground system of the area." Confirmation of these words was found in 1930 during archaeological excavations in the vicinity of the column of Constantine, during which were discovered lobbies, in the shape of a labyrinth. Hence, there was a belief that Cemberlitas - is a gateway providing access to the underground galleries of Istanbul.