Nowadays the fortress of Edikule is in excellent condition and amazes visitors with its powerful walls, high towers, dark and gloomy cellars. with its strong walls, high towers, dark and gloomy cellars, which were intended for the enemies of the Ottoman Empire and for storing the treasury.
Once upon a time, back in the days of Constantinople, the site of the fortress was the edge of the city and a a gate to enter the city. The gate was called the Golden Gate and reliably protected the city from invaders. In the 9th century the city was besieged by the Slavs, in the 7th century by the Arabs, but they both left with a ransom without conquering the city. Before the siege was lifted, the enemies would nail their shields nailed their shields over the city gates.
Despite its high-profile name, the Golden Gate is a modest. marble structure, designed in the form of a triumphal arch, and has a small secret. And the secret is that the sashes of the arch, which glittered like gold, were made of brass. Next to the Golden Gate is the Small Gate. Small Gate, which has survived to the present day.
The history of Yedikule Fortress begins from the moment when through the Golden Gate the invaders managed to break into the city. The sultans decided to build not walls, but a real fortress. In just a few years, that decision was realised, and the fortress was built, with seven towers and a a large courtyard. Out of superstition, the Golden Gate was laid with bricks.
The city wall was built during the reign of Emperor Theodosius II. The thickness of the inner walls - 5 m, every 50 m in the wall built a defence tower. every 50 metres in the wall. On the outer wall, 2 m thick, there were 96 towers. Almost the entire inner wall has survived to our time, but the outer wall has almost completely collapsed. has almost completely collapsed. In translation from Turkish "Yedikule" means Seven towers. Four towers were built by the Byzantines, and three towers (inner ones) were built by the Muslims. by the Muslims. In one of the towers survived the dark and gloomy casemates, which were the prisoners of the sultans. On the walls are still visible inscriptions in Greek, Turkish, Arabic. Greek, Turkish, Arabic. One of the towers served as a place of execution. Today it houses the Museum of Torture, which displays various instruments of torture, that are far more horrific than the tools of the Inquisition. Another tower was used to hold the treasury. This tower was a well, more than 300 metres high and 20 metres in diameter. over 300 metres high and 20 metres in diameter. And this tower was filled to the top of its head filled to the top with precious stones and gold. A staircase in the wall leads up to the walls to the walls of the fortress, where you can pass through several towers and reach the Belgrade Gate. Belgrade Gate or Silivri Gate.
In the 19th century, the fortress of Edikule was turned into a storehouse for provisions, for some time it even had a zoo. it even housed a zoo. At the end of the 1960s, Edikule Fortress became a museum. Festivals, concerts and fashion shows are held in the courtyard of the Edikule Museum. An interesting fact is that during a concert, a certain level of noise must be maintained. a certain level of noise. The reason for this ban is to prevent the destruction of the ancient masonry of the castle.
