Yedikule Fortress joined Byzantine land-wall towers with a new Ottoman fortification after Mehmed the Conqueror’s capture of Constantinople. Its seven-tower form later served as a prison, adding a sobering chapter to the monument’s defensive architecture.
Guide
Yedikule Fortress stands behind the Golden Gate, where the Byzantine land walls meet a later Ottoman addition. Mehmed the Conqueror ordered the fortress built in 1457–58, adding three towers and connecting walls to the four existing towers of the Theodosian walls. Together, the seven towers gave the fortress its name.
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UpgradeQuick facts
- Mehmed the Conqueror ordered the fortress built in 1457–58.
- It combined three added towers with four towers of the Theodosian land walls.
- The fortress served as a prison during the Ottoman period.
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