Theodosian Land Walls

Within The UNESCO World Heritage Inscription Historic Areas Of Istanbul (1985); A Triple Line Of Walls Built 408 413 Running 6.5 Km From The Marmara To The Golden Horn · Istanbul, Istanbul

Between 408 and 413 the Romans built a wall across the peninsula and it held for a thousand and forty years. Three lines deep - a moat, an outer wall, then an inner wall twelve metres high with ninety-six towers - it stopped Attila, the Avars, the Arabs twice, the Rus and the Bulgars, and it only fell in 1453 when cannon arrived that could knock it down. Six and a half kilometres of it still run from the Sea of Marmara to the Golden Horn, straight through a working city: traffic pours through breaches, market gardens that have been farmed since Byzantine times still grow vegetables in the ditch at Yedikule, and the towers stand in people's back yards. Condition is wildly uneven. Some stretches have been restored, some are collapsing, some are best not walked alone, and knowing which is which is most of what a visitor needs. Walk the restored stretches at Edirnekapi and Yedikule and take a taxi between them.

Edirnekapi to Yedikule, Fatih, Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkiye

Open city fabric with no gate hours along most of its length; Yedikule fortress is a ticketed site with daytime hours and has been closed for restoration at times. CONDITION AND SAFETY VARY ENORMOUSLY ALONG THE WALL - some stretches are restored and busy, others are ruinous, overgrown or used as rough ground. Walk it in daylight and prefer the restored sections.

Theodosian Land Walls on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos