Yedikule and the land walls: the old defensive spine

Stops along the way

Things to notice.

1. 01

   1

   Yedikule Marmaray

   The Marmaray train from Sirkeci is the easiest approach — three minutes underwater from the historic peninsula. Yedikule station is at the southern end of the walls, three minutes' walk from the fortress. Walk east; the towers are immediately visible.

   ◉Street View

   01

   Yedikule Marmaray

   The Marmaray train from Sirkeci is the easiest approach — three minutes underwater from the historic peninsula. Yedikule station is at the southern end of the walls, three minutes' walk from the fortress. Walk east; the towers are immediately visible.

2. 02

   2

   Yedikule Hisarı + Golden Gate

   The seven-towered fortress Mehmed II built in 1458, incorporating the older Byzantine Golden Gate at its core. Pay the entry; walk the ramparts; find the two marble pylons that mark where every triumphant Byzantine emperor entered for a thousand years. The fortress also served as Mehmed's treasury and, later, as a prison.

   ◉Street View

   02

   Yedikule Hisarı + Golden Gate

   The seven-towered fortress Mehmed II built in 1458, incorporating the older Byzantine Golden Gate at its core. Pay the entry; walk the ramparts; find the two marble pylons that mark where every triumphant Byzantine emperor entered for a thousand years. The fortress also served as Mehmed's treasury and, later, as a prison.

3. 03

   3

   The walls stretch north

   Between the inner and outer wall, a flat path runs north for kilometres. The grass moat between them was part of the Theodosian defensive design. In spring there are poppies in it; in summer it's dry and you can see how deep it once was.

   ◉Street View

   03

   The walls stretch north

   Between the inner and outer wall, a flat path runs north for kilometres. The grass moat between them was part of the Theodosian defensive design. In spring there are poppies in it; in summer it's dry and you can see how deep it once was.

4. 04

   4

   Belgrade Gate

   Named for the Serbian artisans Süleyman the Magnificent settled here after his Belgrade campaign. One of the seven major gates of the land walls. The gate itself is mostly arch now; the towers either side are largely intact.

   ◉Street View

   04

   Belgrade Gate

   Named for the Serbian artisans Süleyman the Magnificent settled here after his Belgrade campaign. One of the seven major gates of the land walls. The gate itself is mostly arch now; the towers either side are largely intact.

5. 05

   5

   Topkapı land gate

   Not the palace — the land gate, where Mehmed II's bronze cannons breached the walls on 29 May 1453, ending the Byzantine Empire. There's a small bust of Ulubatlı Hasan, the soldier said to have planted the Ottoman flag on the breach. The T1 tram stop bears the same name.

   ◉Street View

   05

   Topkapı land gate

   Not the palace — the land gate, where Mehmed II's bronze cannons breached the walls on 29 May 1453, ending the Byzantine Empire. There's a small bust of Ulubatlı Hasan, the soldier said to have planted the Ottoman flag on the breach. The T1 tram stop bears the same name.

6. 06

   6

   Topkapı-Ulubatlı tram (T1)

   T1 east takes you through Aksaray, Beyazıt and Sultanahmet to Kabataş — a tour of the historic peninsula in twelve stops. Or south on the same line via Cevizlibağ for the airport bus connection.

   ◉Street View

   06

   Topkapı-Ulubatlı tram (T1)

   T1 east takes you through Aksaray, Beyazıt and Sultanahmet to Kabataş — a tour of the historic peninsula in twelve stops. Or south on the same line via Cevizlibağ for the airport bus connection.