Audio GuideYedikule Fortress

Yedikule Fortress stands on the edge of Istanbul, where the city’s old stone walls meet the Sea of Marmara. Its story stretches across centuries, blending Roman glory with Ottoman ambition. Originally, this fortress was not meant to confine but to welcome — its famous Golden Gate was built in the late Roman period, gleaming with gold and marble, as the city’s grandest entrance, greeting emperors and royal guests with striking ceremony.

Deniz Acar

By the mid-sixteenth century, the Ottoman sultan known as Mehmed the Conqueror took these ruins and built three more towers, creating the seven-towered stronghold you see today. Now united behind thick ramparts, the fortress became a secure treasury, holding the empire’s greatest riches for centuries.

J C

As power shifted, so did Yedikule’s purpose. Its mighty halls changed from royal welcome to royal dungeon. Over time, countless notable figures — kings, diplomats, sultans, and generals — passed through as prisoners. Osman the Second, a young sultan, met his tragic end in one of the towers now named for him. Other towers have names that hint at their roles: the Armory Tower once held weapons; the Treasury Tower guarded gold and jewels; the Flag Tower flew the Ottoman banner high above the city.

ahmet güven

After wars, earthquakes, and fires, the fortress adapted again and again. In the late nineteenth century, it even housed a girls’ school and a zoo. The mosque built by the Ottomans remains, and the fountain still stands where soldiers and officials once gathered.

Yedikule is a fusion of cultures — a Roman triumphal arch joined seamlessly with sturdy Ottoman towers. Visitors today can follow stone corridors, see ancient inscriptions, and look down the deep, eerie well said to hold bloody secrets. Restoration and growing public interest have turned Yedikule into one of Istanbul’s oldest open-air museums. Guided tours and cultural events now fill the courtyards that once echoed with royal footsteps and whispers of intrigue.

Nestled beside Istanbul’s legendary city walls, the fortress connects past and present. Whether you are drawn by its architecture, its legends, or its panoramic city views, Yedikule remains a gateway not just in stone, but through time itself.