Ramparts
 City
Walls : The
location of old
Istanbul is marked
in a triangular
shape by the 6˝
km-long city wall,
called Theodosius II
city walls, which
started construction
in 413. An
earthquake in 447
almost destroyed
them, so were
rebuilt in a hasty
two months. The
mammoth effort was
thanks to 16,000
citizens who were
forced to work to
get it completed in
time to prevent
Attila’s forces who
were fast advancing.
They completed
construction of the
original walls, 5m
thick and 12m high,
plus and outer wall
of 2m by 8.5m, and a
moat. Since 1990,
some areas have been
rebuilt, and some
unrestored areas
collapsed during the
1999 earthquake. It
is possible to walk
along the entire
length, which would
take a full day,
with highlights
including Yedikule,
Edirnekapi and
Mihrimah Camii.
At the southern
point of the walls
is Yedikule and the
Golden Gate, the
most impressive
within the walls.
The area is an old,
attractive quarter
with many churches,
since this is the
centre of Rum
Orthodoxy, the last
remaining
descendants of the
Byzantine Greeks.
The Gate is flanked
by two marble
towers, a monumental
entrance through
which important
state visitors and
triumphant emperors
would pass through.
The gold-plated
doors were removed
after the collapse
of the empire and
the entrance bricked
up, although the
three arches are
still visible.
The other five
towers were added by
Mehmet the
Conqueror, and
together with the
12m wall it forms
the enclave which
can be seen today.
Two of the towers
were prisons, and
the one in the
second tower was
also an execution
chamber. The wooden
gallows and the well
into which the heads
would roll, are
still visible today,
as are some
instruments of
torture. While the
entire enclave was
used as a treasury,
warehouse and
ambassadorial jail,
now it is a museum,
still with the
Golden Gate towers
and in the summer
months, concerts
performed here.
Anadoluhisarı and
Rumelihisarı :
On the Asian side of
the Bosphorus,
Anadolu Hisari is a
small castle built
during the 1390s by
Sultan Beyazit.
Together with
Rumeli, on the
European side built
by Mehmet the
Conqueror in 1452,
the two fortresses
had complete control
of passing transport
between the Black
Sea and the Marmara.
Rumeli, an early
Ottoman fortress
built in only four
months, before the
Ottoman conquest of
the city, to prevent
the aides of
Byzantine from the
north.
Anadolu is always
open to explore the
walls, and Rumeli
has a small open-air
theatre showing
concerts and plays
in summer. There is
also a café perched
on the top, a
popular place in
summer evenings for
tea, served from
great samovars, and
light meals. Both
fortresses have, of
course, a great
panoramic view of
the Bosphorus.
Anadoluhisarı,
Rumelihisarı and
Yedikulehisarı
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