Istanbul - Yedikule

For a good view of the land walls of Istanbul it is well worth while driving down the road which runs outside the walls from the Edirne Gate, passing the Top Kapi (Cannon Gate) and the Silivri Gate, to the Fortress of Yedikule (Seven Towers) on the Sea of Marmara. This battlemented stronghold on a pentagonal plan was built by Mehmet II from 1455 onwards and served successively as a fortress, a treasury and a State prison. From the tower at the east corner there is a magnificent prospect of the whole of the land walls as well as the beautiful surroundings.