The fortress of Rumeli Hisary, or Rumel Fortress, is located on the European side of Istanbul between two bridges over the Bosphorus, at its narrowest part, north of the Bebek neighbourhood. It was built in 1452 opposite another fortress, Anadulu Hisary on the Asian side of the strait and was a strategically important Ottoman site on the Bosphorus, guarding the gateway of the Golden Horn Bay.
The castle was built for that time in record time - in 4 months and 16 days. The total area of the construction was more than 30 thousand square metres. After the construction of the Rumeli to sail the Bosphorus became impossible, the narrow place between the fortresses, and the and the fortress itself was nicknamed "cut throat."
A garrison of Janissaries was organised in Rumeli Hisary, who daily shot through the Bosphorus with their giant cannons, and the passage of all foreign vessels through the Bosphorus was forbidden. On one occasion a Venetian ship tried to break through to the and ignored the signal to stop. It was immediately sunk and all and all the surviving sailors were put to the stake. From then on, the cannons installed in the fortress were used as warning salvos and salutes.
After the fall of Constantinople, the fortress served as a customs customs checkpoint. The buildings of the citadel were badly damaged, first in earthquake in 1509 and then in a fire in 1746. Soon Rumeli Hisary completely lost its strategic importance and it was converted into a prison.
The fortress consists of 3 large (round) and 13 small towers, which are were connected by thick, ten-metre high walls.
Each of the main towers leading into the fortress had three gates. The southern tower had a similar secret gate for the food stores and armoury. Inside the of the citadel were wooden barracks, where the soldiers were kept, and a small mosque, under which there was a mosque, beneath which was a large reservoir.
The renovation of the fortress was timed to coincide with the five hundredth anniversary of the conquest of the city of Constantinople in 1953, but it was not fully restored until 1958 1958. In the fortress, the Summer Theatre and the Artillery Museum were opened in 1960. Now a park and an amphitheatre with rows of stone seats for concerts. There are no railings on the walls here, the steps are steep and uneven. You have to climb them very carefully. Some of them are up to 20 metres high, which is also a good reason not to climb up there, but just quietly sit on benches and enjoy the views from the fortress.
