Editing Oldtown (section)

===Layout===
:''See also: [[:Category:Images of Oldtown|Images of Oldtown]]''
Oldtown is built in stone, with all its streets cobbled,{{Ref|AFFC|Prologue}} which can make them wet and slippery on a damp day.{{Ref|AFFC|45}} Most bridges are made of stone, although some wooden bridges can be found as well.{{Ref|AFFC|Prologue}}{{Ref|AFFC|45}} The city itself is surrounded by massive, thick, high stone walls.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Reach: Oldtown}}

Oldtown is a labyrinth of wynds, crisscrossing alleys, narrow crookback streets, and markets. These include the [[Thieves Market]] and [[Ragpicker's Wynd]].{{Ref|AFFC|Prologue}} 

Beautiful{{Ref|AFFC|Prologue}} Oldtown is described as smelling as flowery as a perfumed dowager.{{Ref|ADWD|15}} During summer, it steams and swelters during daytime but comes alive at night. Foliage include melons, [[moonbloom]], [[nightshade]], peaches, and pomegranates.{{ref|AGOT|25}}

Many small isles are located in Oldtown; the [[Quill and Tankard]], an inn, stands on its own island in the Honeywine, for instance.{{Ref|AFFC|Prologue}} The river road winds along beside the Honeywine through the heart of the city.{{Ref|AFFC|45}} West of the river, the Guildhalls line the river bank.{{Ref|AFFC|Prologue}} [[Rat pits]] and black brothels are located in the undercity.{{Ref|AFFC|Prologue}}

[[File:Folko Streese the Citadel.png|thumb|350px|The [[Citadel]], by Folko Streese © Fantasy Flight Games]]
The [[Citadel]] is located upriver on both sides of the Honeywine, connected by stone bridges crowded with halls and houses.{{Ref|AFFC|Prologue}} Boys and men gather there from all over Westeros to learn, study, and forge a [[maester]]'s chain. The Citadel is considered to be the greatest seat of knowledge in the [[known world]].{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Reach: Oldtown}}

Downriver{{Ref|AFFC|Prologue}} is the [[Starry Sept]] of the [[Faith of the Seven]], which was raised on the command of Lord [[Triston Hightower]]. It became the seat of the [[High Septon]]s for a thousand years, which made Oldtown the unquestioned center of the Faith for all of Westeros. Only following the construction of the [[Great Sept of Baelor]] in [[King's Landing]] during the second half of the second century after [[Aegon's Conquest]], did the Starry Sept lose its status.{{Ref|AFFC|Prologue}}{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Reach: Oldtown}} Besides the Sept of Oldtown, at least seven more septs honoring the Seven, built on the command of Lord [[Damon Hightower]], can be found nearby.{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Reach: Oldtown}} These include the [[Sailor's Sept]] down by the harbor, the [[Lord's Sept]], and the [[Seven Shrines]] in their gardens across the Honeywine.{{ref|AFFC|Prologue}} Oldtown is also home to a [[motherhouse]].{{ref|ASOS|22}} Down by the wharves can be found temples that cater to foreigners, such as [[Summer Isles|Summer Islanders]] and [[red priests]] of the [[Lord of Light]].{{ref|AFFC|Prologue}}

The mighty [[Hightower]] is a massive stepped lighthouse located on [[Battle Isle]], where the Honeywine widens into Whispering Sound.{{Ref|AFFC|Prologue}} The Hightower has a great beacon on top, which shows ships the way to port.<ref name=ssm>[[So Spake Martin]]: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/The_Arryns_and_the_Hightower The Arryns and the Hightower], May 9, 1999</ref> The Hightower is located on [[Battle Isle]]{{Ref|AFFC|Prologue}} in the center of Oldtown.<ref name=ssm/> The Hightower is the tallest tower in the world,{{Ref|TWOIAF|The Reach}} higher than even the seven-hundred-foot [[Wall]].{{Ref|AWOIAF|Hightower}}