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Yedikule Fortress (Yedikule Hisarı / Yedikule Zindanları) is an Ottoman fortress along the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople in Istanbul, Turkey. It’s located in the Yedikule neighborhood.
Visiting
Yedikule Fortress has spent several years under restoration and is finally open to the public. It’s open daily except Mondays and admission for foreigners is 100₺ (as of April 2024). Work hasn’t been completed yet, but the most interesting parts of the fortress are open. I plan to visit on my next trip to Istanbul and will update photos and info on this post. I’ve written about my previous experiences at the fortress later in this entry.
Construction
In 1458, Mehmed the Conqueror ordered the construction of the complex along the old Byzantine walls. He fully enclosed a section of the walls, including the Golden Gate, and added three new towers. The completed fortress had seven towers, and Yedikule translates to Seven Towers.
Towers included the Treasury Tower (Hazine Kulesi); Arsenal Tower (Cephanelik Kulesi); Tower of Ahmed III (III. Ahmed Kulesi), which was repaired by Sultan Ahmed III; Tower of Inscriptions (Yazılı Kule), also known as the Dungeon Tower (Zindan Kulesi); Cannon Tower (Top Kulesi); and Flag Tower (Bayrak Kulesi).
Yedikule Fortress originally served as the official Ottoman treasury fortress. Each tower was used to store documents, coins, gold and silver ingots, precious goods, and arms.
Prison
After the treasury moved to Topkapi Palace under Sultan Murad III in the 16th century, the fortress began to function as a dungeon for high-profile prisoners. The last prisoner held there was in 1837.
When the Ottoman Empire would declare war on a country, they would usually imprison ambassadors of those countries at Yedikule Fortress. For example, in 1768, Russian ambassador Aleksei Mikhailovich Obreskov and all embassy staff were imprisoned there. Also, during the Napoleonic Wars, several French prisoners were held there, including diplomat and writer François Pouqueville (1770-1838).
The fortress was also the site of several high-profile executions. Among them were Sultan Osman II (1622); the last Emperor of Trebizond, David Megas Komnenos (1463); Prince of Wallachia Constantin Brâncoveanu and his family (1614); Georgian King Simon I of Kartli (1611); and several Ottoman viziers and pashas.
Recent Uses
During the reign of Sultan Abdülmecid I, Yedikule Fortress was used as a zoo. In the 19th century, garrison houses were built, creating a small village in the inner courtyard. By the end of the 19th century, the houses were torn down and a girls school was erected in their place. The grounds have been used for open-air concerts, theater, and cultural festivals. It has also functioned as a museum since 1895.
My Experience
I visited the fortress twice. Each time, I was able to wander around the grounds, along the walls, and into a couple of the towers. There was almost no information other than a few simple labels to explain what we were seeing. Now that it has reopened to the public, I hope it includes more information and interpretive panels for visitors.
It’s important to be extremely careful while climbing the steep steps up to the top of the walls and while walking on the walls themselves. It can be a dizzying experience and there are no guardrails. Also, the steps can be slippery when wet.
When I visited Yedikule Fortress, I was able to explore the following features:
Minaret
The first structure you’ll most likely notice upon entering the fortress is a minaret in the middle of the inner courtyard. The mosque was built in 1837 after the prison closed and was demolished in 1905.
Tower of Inscriptions
The Tower of Inscriptions (Yazılı Kule) held one of the dungeons that gave the fortress its infamy. It mostly held foreign prisoners and diplomats. It’s name comes from the inscriptions prisoners carved into the walls, including their names, dates of imprisonment, and other information.
François Pouqueville, who was imprisoned there from 1799 to 1801, described his experience in detail:
And at last, lofty towers filled with fetters, chains and old time weapons, graves, ruins; wells of blood, terrible tortures, vaults cold and hollow, under which there are many texts from Al-Quran, shrill cries of owls and vultures mixed with the sound of sea billows.
Cell of Osman II
The Cell of Osman II (Genç Osman’ın Odası) is in one of the towers on the north side of the fortress. Sultan Osman II was the first sultan to recognize the danger of the Janissaries and tried to restrict their power, but they rose up against him. In 1622, they dragged him to Yedikule Fortress and held him in this cell. They later strangled him to death, marking the first time in history the Janissaries would execute a Sultan.
Golden Gate
The Golden Gate (Χρυσή Πύλη / Altınkapı) is on the west side of the fortress and was the most important gate on the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople. It was the main ceremonial entrance to the city and was built with polished white marble. There were actually three arched gates, with the middle one flanked by two large towers. It was decorated with several statues.
The Golden Gate opened to the Via Egnatia, which was an ancient Roman road built in the 2nd century BC. It led from Constantinople to Thessaloniki and onto Dyrrachium (now Dürres, Albania).
According to a Greek prophecy, when the Ottomans entered the city during the Fall of Constantinople, an angel appeared and rescued Constantine XI. The angel turned the Emperor into marble and placed him in an underground cave near the Golden Gate, where he would rise one day to retake the city for Christianity. The Ottomans had the gate sealed to prevent the prophecy from coming true, and it’s still sealed to this day.
Views
Finally, visitors can’t help but notice the spectacular views offered by climbing the walls and towers of Yedikule Fortress. There are panoramic views of Istanbul and the Marmara Sea, including the old city and both sides of the walls.
It’s possible to spot landmarks in the distance such as Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and the Fatih Mosque, and see ships lining up in the Marmara Sea waiting to pass through the Bosporus.
