Sobre Fortaleza de Yedikule
Although it's a bit of a schlep on the suburban train to get out to Yedikule, this commanding fortress is well worth it. Built in the 5th century by the Emperor Theodosius II, the fortress made up the southern section of Constantinople's defensive walls. The mammoth arch (blocked up in the late Byzantine period) was known as Porta Aurea (Golden Gate), with doors plated in gold. When the Ottomans conquered the city, they used the fortress for defense, and later as a prison and execution place.
Designed as Triumphal Arch during the Byzantine era, the structure was merged with a fortress with four towers afterwards. Three more towers were added to the Fortress following the conquest of Istanbul, and in time it was named as Yedikule Dungeons. Being one of the oldest open-air museums of Turkey, you should definitely visit this impressive site.
Yedikule Fortress is a castle which was built in 1458 by Mehmed ll. The tower’s name means “Fortress/Dungeons of the Seven Towers” and it is located in the Yedikule neighborhood of Fatih in Istanbul . Yedikule is in the land walls which are near the Sea of Marmara shore and in the same ranging area as the Golden Horn. This makes it easier and much more accessible to visit other monuments which are close by. When it was built in 1458, it added three new towers to a section of the already existent Walls of Constantinople which also included the well-known Golden Gate. The tower is a historical monument which was built by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed ll after his conquest of Constantinople in 1453. He added three larger towers to the already preexisting ones which were four in total. These were numbered from the 8th to the 11th tower on the inner Theodosian wall. This became known as the Fortress of the Seven Towers. During the reign of Mehmed ll, the Golden Gate temporarily lost its function as a gate, and during most of the Ottoman era, it was simply used as a treasury, archive, and state prison. Notably, it was used to imprison ambassadors of states who were at war with the Porte, and one of its most well-known prisoners was the young Sultan Osman ll who was imprisoned and later executed there by the Janissaries in 1622. The Golden Gate was used as a monumental and ceremonial entrance to the city. It is true that the gigantic doors were actually covered in gold.
The Yedikule Fortress was later used as a prison for many French prisoners during the era of the Napoleonic Wars, and these prisoners included the writer and diplomat Francois Pouqueville who was imprisoned for a little over two years. The last prisoners to be held at Yedikule Fortress were held hostage until 1837. Soon after, a small mosque and a fountain were built right in the middle of the fort’s inner courtyard. There were also houses of the garrison which were constructed, and these formed a separate city quarter. The area surrounding the tower became home to a small community, but the houses were torn down during the 19th century .Instead, a girls’ school was constructed and replaced the houses that once stood there. The outer gate was also re-opened in 1838. The Yedikule towers then functioned as gunpowder magazines for a short period of time up until the whole monument was turned over and it became a museum and a historical monument in 1895.
Ingresso : 5TL
The legendary museum and castle has an open air theatre which was built recently add it is used for cultural festivals. There is a place with the same name in Jerusalem, and similarly to that area, the Yedikule tower has a Muslin cemetery which lies in front of the Golden Gate. The castle wasn’t always this well constructed. Before, it used to be a great pile of stones before it was first built as the Golden Gate during the era of the Byzantine Emperors. From there on, it became what it is today, a historical classical and well protected monument that shares the history of its people and culture.
Yedikule has been restored in recent years, and you can climb up to the top of the battlements for superb views across the Sea of Marmara.
Location: Yedikule Sokak, Yedikule
HOW TO REACH IT
Taksim: Take Metro M2. At Yenikapı station take Bus 31Y and transfer Bus BN2 Yenikapı Sahil Station.
Kadıkoy: Take Metro M4 to Ayrılıkçeşmesit Station transfer to Marmaray at Kazlıçeşme station take Bus BN3 leave at Yedikule sahil station and walk.
Sultanahmet: Take Buses BN 1 or BN2.
Istanbul Ataturk Airport: Take bus number TH-1and transfer to Bus BN2 İdo iskelesi station and leave YEdikulesahil station and wail.