istanbul

Housing the oldest surviving institution of learning in Istanbul, the crowning jewel of Fener is the principle school for the small Greek population. The building was erected in 1881 but served as the Patriarchate School during the Byzantine era. After the conquest, the Patriarchate was granted special rights and the school was allowed to reopen.

Under the sultanate, Greeks called the school the Megali Scholio (Great School), and some of the more prominent names of the Byzantine Empire were educated here, including Palaeologus, Cantacuzejnus, and Cantemir. The soaring dome sits on a thick drum whose upper floor houses an observatory for instruction in astronomy. The best view of the school is from down below (or halfway down the steeply sloping Sancaktar Yokusu); you can’t get in unless you’re up for some aerobics, so just admire it from the base of the hill.

Read more: http://www.frommers.com/destinations/istanbul/A42189.html#ixzz0fPPlO5Jp

Send article as PDF to

The Caferağa Medresseh is a former medresseh, located in Istanbul, Turkey, next to the Hagia Sophia. It was built in 1559 by Mimar Sinan by orders of Cafer Agha, a eunuch during the reign of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566). The medresseh, listed within the independent medressehs and having had a number of restorations until today, was changed by the Turkish Cultural Service Foundation in 1989 into a touristic centre with 15 classrooms/exhibition rooms, a big salon and a garden where traditional Turkish handicrafts such as calligraphy, ceramics, jewelry and so forth are taught, made and sold.

The medresseh is located very close to the Hagia Sophia, stairs lead down to it from the small street. The structure is entered through the main gate which leads into the inner courtyard, around which the former learning rooms are located. There is a restaurant inside that offers a variety of Turkish dishes

Send article as PDF to

One of the smallest of the restoration projects was undertaken in the Fatih area in 2005 by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, a year after Topbaş took over. This was the Kıztaşı (Girl’s Stone) or to be accurate, the Column of Marcian, one of four columns remaining from the Roman era in Constantinople / Istanbul.

The Marcian Column, which is a few streets to the right of the Aqueduct of Valens (You can find it on Google Earth.), and consists of a single red-grey granite column topped with a marble column head on it and a square marble plinth block seated on a three-stepped platform. It is noted for the three Greek crosses inside stone medallions, which also include two faces of angels or genii or possibly the Greek goddess of victory, Nike.

We know that it was dedicated to the Emperor Marcian because of the extant inscription on it that reads, “This statue of the princes Marcian / because Tatianus vowed the work.” Tatianus was governor of the city of Constantinople and it is not surprising that he erected such a commemorative item because Marcian was one of the most successful emperors the Roman Empire had the good fortune to produce, even as it was nearing decline. It is likely that his statue was on top of the column.

[Some think that the column acquired its name from the two faces on it while others suggest that it got its name from the Slave Market located here in Ottoman times. We know little about the slave market other than, if you had to be sold for whatever reason, this one in Istanbul was considered a good place, relatively speaking, to be put on the auction block. There were wealthy buyers and beautiful women could have found themselves living in the sultan's harem with the chance of bearing a son and future sultan. The market was closed in 1846 as a result of pressure brought to bear by the British and it is very doubtful that anyone these days would propose resurrecting it, even for tourism. Quite a few novelists over the years though have thought they could depict it accurately.]

The column actually disappeared from public view as it was located in the garden of a private house. It wasn’t rediscovered until after a fire at the beginning of the 20th century. The column suffered in the fire and has been damaged further, most recently in 1999, by earthquake. It began to lean and the metal bands circling it had separated from the stone. Increased traffic had also hastened the destruction as had the air pollution.

Restoration attempts had already started in the 1970s after the top of the column was noticeably cracked and in danger of falling. The 2005 restoration was to be a complete one that would take all aspects into account including revealing the column drums that remain underground.  Ayten Erdem and Rabia Ozakin, experts in architectural restoration at Yildiz Technical University have been particularly critical of what was done and believe that many of the details escaped the attention of those carrying out the latest restoration.

Send article as PDF to

The Valens Aqueduct (Turkish: Bozdoğan Kemeri, meaning “Aqueduct of the grey falcon”; Greek: Άγωγός του ὔδατος, Agōgós tou hýdatos, meaning simply “aqueduct“) was the major water-providing system of medieval Constantinople (modern Istanbul, in Turkey). Restored by several Ottoman Sultans, it is one of the most important landmarks of the city.

Location

The aqueduct stands in Istanbul, in the quarter of Fatih, and spans the valley between the hills occupied today by the Istanbul University and the Fatih Mosque. The surviving section is 921 meters long, about 50 meters less than the original length.^[1] The Atatürk Bulvarı boulevard passes under its arches.

Today it is usually called the Aqueduct of Valens, since it was finished in 368, during Valens’s reign, but there is reason to assume that it was already planned and begun in Constantine’s time.39 As mentioned above, the aqueduct runs parallel to one of the streets in the old part of Byzantium. Also, its southeastern
prolongation would exactly meet the main entrance of the courtyard in the Great Palace that is now the Mosaic Museum. It is obvious that the aqueduct  was planned in a clear relationship to the street system of the old town of Byzantium. Arches 26/27 and 52 are wider than the others in the aqueduct and were certainly
intended to serve as passages for streets.40 At other points where we would expect similar wider arches, the original construction is lost, for example, at the northwestern end close to the church of the Holy Apostles, where the aqueduct was completely rebuilt in Ottoman times.

History

Roman period

The construction of a water supply system for the city (then still called Byzantium) had begun already under the Roman emperor Hadrian.^[2] Under Constantine I, when the city was rebuilt and increased in size, the system needed to be greatly expanded to meet the needs of the rapidly growing population.^[3]

The Valens aqueduct, which originally got its water from the slopes of the hills between Kağıthane and the Sea of Marmara,^[4] was merely one of the terminal points of this new wide system of aqueducts and canals – which eventually reached over 250 kilometers in total length, the longest such system of Antiquity – that stretched throughout the hill-country of Thrace and provided the capital with water. Once in the city, the water was stored in three open reservoirs and over a hundred underground cisterns, such as the Basilica Cistern, with a total capacity of over 1 million cubic meters.^[5]

“Aqueduct of Valens (in the City)” (Istanbul) engraved by J.C.Bentley after a picture by W.H.Bartlett, published in The Beauties of the Bosphorus, 1838. Steel engraved print with recent hand colour. Good condition. Size 18 x 14.5 cms including title, plus margins. Ref G3331

The exact date that construction on the aqueduct began is uncertain, but it was completed in the year 368 during the reign of Roman Emperor Valens, whose name it bears. It lay along the valley between the third and fourth hills of Constantinople, occupied respectively at that time by the Capitolium and the Church of the Holy Apostles.^[6] According to tradition, the aqueduct was built using the stones of the walls of Chalcedon, pulled down as punishment in 366 after the revolt of Procopius.^[6] The structure was inaugurated in the year 373 by the urban prefect Klearchos, who commissioned a Nymphaeum Maius in the Forum of Theodosius, that was supplied with water from the aqueduct.^[6]a[›]

After a severe drought in 382, Theodosius I built a new line (the Aquaeductus Theodosiacus), which took water from the northeastern region known today as the “Belgrade Forest”.^[3]

East Roman (Byzantine) period

Other works were executed under Theodosius II, who decided to distribute the water of the aqueduct exclusively to the Nymphaeum, the Baths of Zeuxippus and the Great Palace of Constantinople.^[3] The aqueduct, possibly damaged by an earthquake, was restored under Emperor Justinian I, who connected it with the Cistern of the Basilica of Illus^b[›] (identified today either with the Yerebatan or with the Binbirdirek (Turkish: Turkish): “thousand and one columns”) cistern, and was repaired in 576 by Justin II, who built a separate pipe.^[6][7]

The aqueduct was cut by the Avars during the siege of 626, and the water supply was reestablished only after the great drought of 758 by Emperor Constantine V.^[6] The Emperor had the whole water supply system repaired by a certain Patrikios, who used a large labour force coming from the whole of Greece and Anatolia.^[6]

Other maintenance works were accomplished under Emperors Basil II (in 1019) and Romanos III Argyros.^[4][8]

The last Byzantine Emperor who took care of the aqueduct was Andronikos I Komnenos.^[7] Neither during the Latin Empire nor during the Palaiologan period were any repair works executed, but by that time the population of the city had shrunk to about 40,000 – 50,000 inhabitants, so that the water supply was no longer a very important issue.^[4] Nevertheless, according to Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, a Castilian diplomat who traveled to Constantinople en route to an embassy to Timur in 1403, the aqueduct was still functioning.^[6]

Ottoman period

After the Fall of Constantinople (1453), Sultan Mehmet II repaired the whole water supply, which was then used to bring water to the imperial palaces of Eski Sarayi (the first palace, built on the third hill) and Topkapı Sarayi, and connected it with a new line coming from the northeast. The great earthquake of 1509 destroyed the arches near the Mosque of Şehzade, which was erected some time later. This gave rise to the popular legend that they were cut, in order to allow a better view from the nearby mosque. The repairs to the water-supplying net continued under Beyazid II, who added a new line.^[8]

Around the middle of the 16th century, Suleyman I rebuilt arches (now ogival) 47 up to 51 (counted from the west) near the Şehzade Mosque, and commissioned the Imperial Architect Sinan to add two more lines, coming from the Forest of Belgrade (Belgrad Ormanı).^[4] The increased flow allowed the distribution of water to the Kιrkçeşme (”Forty Fountains”) quarter, situated along the aqueduct on the Golden Horn side, and so called after the many fountains built there under Suleyman.^[4]

Under Sultan Mustafa II, five arches (41-45) were restored, respecting the ancient form. An inscription in situ, dated 1696/97, commemorates the event.^[8] His successor Ahmed III repaired again the distribution net.^[8]

In 1912, a 50-meter-long part of the aqueduct near the Fatih Mosque was pulled down.^[4] In the same period, a new modern Taksim (”distribution plant”, lit. ‘division’) at the east end was erected.^[4]

Description

The Aqueduct of Valens

The Aqueduct of Valens had a length of 971 meters and a maximum height of ca. 29 meters (63 meters above sea level) with a constant slope of 1:1000.^[6] Arches 1-40 and 46-51 belong to the time of Valens, arches 41-45 to Mustafa II, and those between 52 and 56 to Suleyman I.^[9] Arches 18-73 have a double order, the others a single order.^[6][9]

Originally the structure ran perfectly straight, but during the construction of the Fatih Mosque – for unknown reasons – it was bent in that section.^[10] The masonry is not regular, and uses a combination of ashlar blocks and bricks.^[6] The first row of arches is built with well-squared stone blocks, the upper row is built with four to seven courses of stones alternated with a bed of smaller material (opus caementitium) clamped with iron cramps.^[10] The width of the aqueduct varies from 7.75 meters to 8.24 meters.^[6] The pillars are 3.70 meters thick, and the arches of the lower order are four meters wide.^[10]

The water comes from two lines from the northeast and one coming from the northwest, which join together outside the walls, near the Adrianople Gate (Edirne Kapı).^[1] Near the east end of the aqueduct there is a distribution plant, and another lies near Hagia Sophia. The water feeds the zone of the imperial palace.^[10] The daily discharge in the 1950s amounted to 6,120 cubic meters.^[10] During Byzantine times, two roads important for the topography of medieval Constantinople crossed under the eastern section of the aqueduct.^[10]

CISTERN of AETIOS

This open cistern in the northwest of the city was built in 421 and filled with water from the supply line leading to the Aqueduct of Valens. In the middle byzantine time, it was probably already used as a garden.

Send article as PDF to

The Neo-classical Enderûn Library (Enderûn Kütüphanesi), also known as “Library of Sultan Ahmed III” (III. Ahmed Kütüphanesi), is located directly behind the Audience Chamber (Arz Odası) in the centre of the Third Court. It was built on the foundations of the earlier Havuzlu kiosk by the royal architect Mimar Beşir Ağa in 1719 on orders of Ahmed III for use by officials of the royal household. The colonnade of this earlier kiosk now probably stands in front of the present Treasury.

The library is a beautiful example of Ottoman architecture of the 18th century.^{[citation needed]} The exterior of the building is faced with marble. The library has the form of a Greek cross with a domed central hall and three rectangular bays. The fourth arm of the cross consists of the porch, which can be approached by a flight of stairs on either side. Beneath the central arch of the portico is an elaborate drinking fountain with niches on each side. The building is set on a low basement to protect the precious books of the library against moisture.

The walls above the windows are decorated with 16th and 17th century İznik tiles of variegated design. The central dome and the vaults of the rectangular bays have been painted. The decoration inside the dome and vaults are typical of the so-called Tulip period, which lasted from 1703 to 1730. The books were stored in cupboards built into the walls. The niche opposite the entrance was the private reading corner of the sultan.

The library contained books on theology, Islamic law and similar works of scholarship in Ottoman Turkish, Arabic and Persian. The library collection consisted of more than 3,500 manuscripts. Some are fine examples of inlay work with nacre and ivory. Today these books are kept in the Mosque of the Ağas (Ağalar Camii), which is located to the west of the library. One of the most important items there is the so-called Topkapi manuscript, a copy of the Qur’an from the time of the third Caliph Uthman Ibn Affan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topkap%C4%B1_Palace

Send article as PDF to

Hasköy Jewish cemetery is a higgledy piggledy site on top of a hill. The gravestones are horizontal as in the Sephardic tradition. The views are great even if it is all somewhat melancholy. But then İstanbul, as you may have already discovered, has a very pervasive melancholy side.

Abraham Kamondo Mausoleum: Abraham Kamondo was a banker, a
leader of the Jewish community in Istanbul in the 19th century and also
one of the founders of the municipality. His mausoleum will restored to its
past glory and to highlight the cohtribution of the Jewish community in the
cultural life of Istanbul.

Dying at Paris at the age of eighty-eight, Camondo, according to his last wishes, was buried in his family vault in the Jewish cemetery at Hasköy, İstanbul. The Ottoman government held memorial services in his honor.

http://www.onderkaya.net/arsiv/2007/03/19

To view the Kamondo Mausoleum you must take a ride on the Birinci Çevreyolu, the expressway which skirts the central area of the city to the north of Hasköy. Tragically, the path of the expressway passes directly through the midst of the large Hasköy Jewish Cemetery.

A birdseye view of the Jewish cemetery of Haskoy (Istanbul), 1583 onwards.
Picture taken by Minna Rozen, August 1995.

A typical view at Haskoy Jewish cemetery; Tonbstones from the mid 17th century and 2nd half of the 18th century.
Pictures taken by Laurence Salzman, August 1987.

Burial caves of the Jewish cemetery of Haskoy in Istanbul, mid 17th century.
Picture taken by Mehmet Ali Cida , August1988.

The Kamondo mausoleum is set prominently on a hill just to the north of the roadway, a short distance northeast of the Golden Horn, especially when travelling westbound.

http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/special/jewish/JewishHaskoy.html

Send article as PDF to

Aynalıkavak Palace is a former Ottoman palace located in the Hasköy neighborhood in Istanbul, Turkey. It was constructed during the reign of Sultan Ahmed I (1603-1617), with various additions and changes over time. It is under the administration of the Turkish Department of National Palaces.

The importance of the shipyards on the Golden Horn meant that there was a need for somewhere close at hand where the sultans could stay while visiting them. The answer lay in the early 17th century Tersane Sarayı (Shipyard Palace), originally built for Sultan Ahmed I, who liked to practice his archery in the Okmeydanı on nearby Hasköy Hill. Today all that survives of the waterside palace is the Aynalıkavak Kasrı (Pavilion of the Mirrored Poplars), a pavilion added to the site by Sultan Ahmed III, who wanted a pied à terre within easy reach of the Kağıthane and Alibey streams (then the pleasure grounds known as the Sweet Waters of Europe), where he could throw his famous tulip-peeping parties.

In 1730 the palace lost its raison d’être with the overthrow of the sultan and his powerful grand vizier, although it received a new lease of life in the late 18th century when the music-loving Sultan Selim III had it restored as a venue for private concerts.

It was restored again during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808-39). In theory, it’s once again under restoration, although the signs stating that fact have now been in place for so long that they’re growing rusty with age.  For the time being, you’ll have to content yourself with inspecting the tiles at the base of the Eyüp funicular, which depict the pavilion in its heyday, with the sultan watching acrobatics taking place on the Golden Horn right in front of it.

Send article as PDF to

The oldest settlement on the Golden Horn, Balat is like a miniature Istanbul with its uniform streets, its two and three-story houses with cantilevered balconies, its staircases jutting up the steep slopes, and its places of worship at every step.

Balat is a quarter that has extended its hospitality to a large number of different communities in its time. From the Byzantine Greeks to Jews that fled the Spanish Inquisition and the Armenians that settled in Istanbul, Balat has been a place of residence for numerous disparate ethnic groups. Many a migration route has ended in the old Golden Horn quarter of Balat, which to the outsider today appears mysterious and even a little forbidding.

GATEWAY TO PALACES
The shores of the Golden Horn were once lined with defense walls punctuated by a large number of gates to the city. Arriving at the palace by sea, the Byzantine emperors used the Balat Gate, known then as ‘Vasiliki Pili’. This gate stood on the road leading to the Tekfur Saray, the only Byzantine palace still standing today and an annex of the Blachernae Palace as it was known by its old name, as well as to the notorious Anemas Dungeons. The name Balat is said to derive from the word ‘palation’, which means palace in Greek. Quiet and peaceful today, and almost deserted at nightfall, the streets of Balat once bustled at all hours of the day.

Holy Spring of the Virgin Mary
When I stepped into the street leading to Balat from the walls of the Ayvansaray where the tombs of the Sahabe (Companions of the Prophet Muhammed) are located, the first thing I encountered at the gate was the ‘Ayazma’ or Holy Spring of the Virgin Mary. A young priest here is telling visitors about the Golden Horn and Balat. Legend has it that there was once a rock fragment of dazzling whiteness sticking up out of the waters of the Bosphorus, the strait dividing the Asian and European continents, off the coast of Chalcedon. Startled by its brilliance, the pelamydes (the small tuna known in Turkish as ‘palamut’) took refuge at nightfall in the Golden Horn on their migration route from the Black Sea to the Aegean.  So great were their numbers that the entire estuary glowed with their phosphorescence. According to some this is the origin of the name ‘Golden Horn’, while others claim it derives from the sheer abundance of the fish. All the people of Byzantium flocked down to the shore from the gates along the Golden Horn to catch fish there with their bare hands, and behind the walls Palation (Balat) became a scene of great festivity. Although the fish migrations steadily declined, Balat remained the last stop for communities in search of a new home.

DISTRICT OF ETHNIC MINORITIES
Balat has gone down in history as a district of  ethnic minorities. Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition took refuge in Istanbul during the reign of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror and were settled at Balat, which in those days was a final destination for Jews from all over the place. The altar of the Ahrida Synagogue on Vodina Avenue resembles a ship’s prow. According to one legend, this structure is a fragment of Noah’s ark while according to another it is said to represent the galleons that brought the Jews from Spain to Istanbul. Another of the still active synagogues, located on Düriye Street, Yanbol Synagogue was built by Jews from Bulgaria. Practically every street where Jews lived had it own synagogue in those days.When the sultan on 27 August 1839 issue a firman declaring that ‘every community has a right to build its own hospital’, a hospital was constructed on the coast road to meet the needs of the Jewish population. Due to a lack of sufficient funds to build a hospital, health care previously had been provided at home.  In 1896, today’s magnificent Or-Ahayim Hospital was erected by a well-known architect of the period, Gabriel Tedesci. Continuing along the shore, one encounters the striking Bulgarian Church of Saint Stephen, which rises on an island right in the middle of the road. Rumor has it that this church was built in one month. Since the reigning Sultan Abdulaziz granted only a single month for its construction, it was prefabricated in Vienna of cast iron and shipped by sea to Istanbul where it was then assembled. Being distinguished architecturally as the only church of its kind in the world, it also boasts a unique icon of Jesus and the Virgin Mary whose like is not found in any other church. The Armenian Church of Surp Hreshdagabed in Kamış Street attracts attention for its unusual architecture and its ‘ayazma’ or holy spring. Originally a Greek church, later it was converted into an Armenian church. The bones of Saint Artemios, which were found during a restoration, are on display in the ayazma section underneath the building. There are also numerous Greek churches in the quarter which only open their doors on holidays and other important occasions. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate is located in Balat. As we proceed towards it along Vodina Avenue, we see the Greek Boys’ School at the end of the steep intersecting street known as the Sancaktar Yokuş, an imposing, eye-dazzling structure that dominates the quarter from its position on the hill. Next to it stands the Greek Girls’ School where education continues despite a gradually dwindling number of students. Immediately below the school is the house, now converted into a museum, of the Prince of Moldavia, Dimitri Kantemir, who made important contributions to classical Turkish music. When Muslims to began to make their homes here, mosques, dervish lodges, and even an entire mosque complex went up at Balat, where there had been not so much as a ‘mescid’ or small mosque in the time of Mehmed the Conqueror. The best known of these buildings is the Ferruh Kethuda Complex in the street of the same name, designed by the 16th century Ottoman architect known as Mimar Sinan and consisting of a mosque, a dervish lodge, a fountain and court buildings.

BACK TO THE OLD DAYS
Once at Balat the peal of church bells mingled with the drone of prayers rising from the synagogues and the ripple of water in the holy springs. Most of the Jews emigrated to Israel in the 1940’s and in time the other non-Muslim minorities resettled in the more upscale Istanbul districts of Galata, Pera and Şişli. Later Balat continued to offer its traditional hospitality to poor people coming from other areas, including migrants from various parts of Anatolia and even some gypsies who abandoned their nomadic lifestyle to settle here. In recent years, restoration activities have gotten under way in Balat, under the auspices of the European Union in particular, with the aim of recreating its former texture. The old two and three-story houses with their cantilevered balconies are being done up anew, and an effort is being made to restore the streets to their original appearance. But such restoration too brings change in its wake, and Balat is becoming more gentrified by the day. Whether it can return again to the old days is anybody’s guess, but it would seem it is going to continue to be a settlement of diverse communities as time goes on.

Original

Send article as PDF to

Anadoluhisarı (Anatolian Castle) is a fortress located in Istanbul, Turkey on the Anatolian (Asian) side of the Bosporus, which also gives its name to the quarter around it. It was built between 1393 and 1394 by the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I “The Thunderbolt” as part of his preparations for the Second Ottoman Siege of Constantinople, which took place in 1395.

Anadoluhisarı, constructed on an area of 7,000 m², is situated at the narrowest point with 660 m of the Bosporus strait and next to a creek named Göksu (ancient Greek name: Aretòs). The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, the second bridge spanning Bosporus, is located just north of the fortress. Another fortress, Rumelihisarı, was built between 1451 and 1452 by Sultan Mehmed II opposite of Anadoluhisarı on the European side in order to obtain absolute control over the sea traffic of the Bosporus Strait, which was especially vital for the Genoese in Galata, who were allied with the Byzantines and had colonies in the Black Sea such as Caffa, Sinop and Amasra.

Anadoluhisarı was erected as a watch fort. It has a 25 m high, quadratic main tower within the walls of an irregular pentagon with five watchtowers at the corners. There is a masjid in the fortress. It is the oldest Turkish architectural structure built in Istanbul. The fortress was named “Güzelce Hisar” in historical documents. Sultan Mehmed II reinforced the fortress with a 2 m thick wall around it, which had three watchtowers. Some extension buildings like warehouse and houses were added as well. Due to changes made in the past, it no longer retains its original appearance. Following the conquest of Constantinople, it served as a military prison.

The Turkish Ministry of Culture restored the site in 1991 – 1993. Today, this small fort creates a picturesque appearance with the old wooden houses leaning to its walls and its surroundings. Anadoluhisarı is a museum (historical site), but not open to public.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anadoluhisar%C4%B1

Send article as PDF to

According to the historian Michael Doukas, on the morning of 29 May 1453, the small postern called Kerkoporta was left open by accident, allowing the first fifty or so Ottoman troops to enter the city. The Ottomans raised their banner atop the Inner Wall and opened fire on the Greek defenders of the peribolos below. This spread panic, and began the rout of the defenders and the fall of the city.^[88] In 1864, the remains of a postern located on the Outer Wall at the end of the Theodosian Walls, between tower 96 and the so-called Palace of the Porphyrogenitus, were discovered, and identified by A.G. Paspates with the Kerkoporta. Later scholars, like van Millingen^[89] and Steven Runciman^[90] have accepted this theory as well. However, excavations at the site have uncovered no evidence of a gate in the Inner Wall (now vanished) in that area, and it may be that Doukas’ story is either invention or derived from the earlier legend concerning the Xylokerkos Gate, which several earlier scholars also equated with the Kerkoporta. ^[91]

Theodosian Land Walls, Belgrade Gate/Second Military Gate/Xylokerkos Gate

The Kerkoporta (Greek Κερκόπορτα) was a sally-port along the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople, near the bend created by the addition of the Blachernae suburb to the original city. It was through this unattended gate that the first Ottoman troops entered the city, raising their banner atop the tower and beginning the rout of the Christian defenders.

The traditional story is that the gate was inadvertently left unattended, however, recent historians have questioned this point, raising the possibility that some of the city’s population may have decided to surrender, as their situation was hopeless, and purposely let the Turkish soldiers in. This theory is based on the fact that Constantinople’s people were sharply divided over issues such as reconciliation with the Western Church at the time of the city’s fall.

wiki.phantis.com/index.php/Kerkoporta

With Giustiniani’s Genoese troops retreating into the city and towards the harbour, Constantine and his men, now left to their own devices, kept fighting and managed to hold off the attackers for a while. At this point, some historians suggest that the Kerkoporta gate in the Blachernae section had been left unlocked, and the Ottomans soon discovered this mistake.^[48] The Ottomans rushed in. Around the same time, the defenders were being overwhelmed at several points in Constantine’s section. When Turkish flags were seen flying above the Kerkoporta, a panic ensued and the defense collapsed, as Janissary soldiers, led by Ulubatlı Hasan pressed forward. It is said that Constantine, throwing aside his purple regalia, led the final charge against the oncoming Ottomans, dying in the ensuing battle in the streets like his soldiers, although his ultimate fate remains unknown.^[49]

Here, there are two more gates, memorable in history: one is most probably gone, or buried deep in the ground; another is still in place, almost intact. The former is the little GATE of KERKOPORTA, the opening of which was to seal the fate of the Empire; as a large section of walls had been brought down by the bombardment, the soldiers found it difficult to pass into the peribolos without being seen by the Turks. “There were, however, some old men who knew of an under-ground sally-port at the lower end of the Palace (of Porphyrogenitus) that many years before, had been sealed shut. The Emperor commanded that it be opened. The name of this hidden door was Kerkoporta.” ( Doukas) Walking about the vacant land between the inner wall and the palace, which is still standing, I sadly thought of the events that took place here after the opening of the sally-port; when a company of Turkish nobles saw the sally-port open “they leaped inside, climbed to the top of the walls and zealously slew anyone they met…” They then lowered the Emperor’s flag and planted the Sultan’s standard; when those fighting in the outer fortifications looked up and saw the Turkish flag flying on the towers the cry rose that “ the CITY HAS FALLEN ! ” Panic-stricken, they all fled into the city through the GATE OF ADRIANOPLE. The Emperor too fell at his post. From the Gate of Adrianople, which is the second of the gates mentioned above, and through every available breach on the walls, the Turks began to spread into the fallen City.

http://www.istanbulstrolls.com/8h.htm

In this account of  the last conflict Gibbon has omitted a highly important fact which hastened the capture of the city. This fact is not mentioned by Phrantzes; it rests on the authority of Ducas(p. 28o-5) and is confirmeb dy a short statemen ot f Critobulu (si. 6o adfin.).North of the Porta Charseaeso, uthofthe Porta Caligariain, a transverswe ail which connects the inner and outer Theodosia wnalis, thereisa smaUpostern (found by M.Paspatesw)  hichis called the Kerkoport bay Ducas(wrongly?a)n, dwas alwayks epts hut,but had been opened by Giustinianio’s rderfsor the purpose of a possiblesortie.Someof the Greekswhowerefightingin thespace betweetnheinnerandtheoutewr betweetnheinnerandtheoutewr allp, ressedbytheenemyr,etreatetdhrough theKerkoportaan, dfiftyTurksfoUowetdhem, astheyneglectetdoshutthe gate. MoreTurkssoonpressedin,andothersmountedthewalis,captured
thetowerclosetothegate,andsetup theOttomanstandards onthewalls. TheretreatoftheGreeksw, howereoutsidethe innerwall,bytheKerkoportawasnowcutoff, andseeingthe flagsof the foeonthe battlements theythrongedback throughthePortaCharseaew, hichwasthenleft undefendeds, othattheTurkscouldenterbythisgatetoo. TheTurkswho
thuspenetratedseemtohavebetakenthemselveast firstto theharbousride ofthecity,andsometimeelapsedbefore thecombatantsat theGateofSt. Romanus, wherethe fightwasragingmosthotly,learnedwhathadhappened.
Phrantze(swithouetxplainingd)escribetshe arrivaolfthe tidings (p.285). Acrywasheardon theharbourside:”The fortis taken,the standardosf thefoeareon the towersl”ThenConstantinsepurredhis horseintothe thickof the fray.]
atDucaskillshim withtwoblowsof Turkishsoldiers;Chalcondyles woundhsimin theshouldera, ndthentramplehsiminthegate. Thegrief ofPhranzacarrying himamongthe enemyescapesfromthepreciseimage

The section of the Theodosian Walls that adjoins the walls of Blachernae, with the Palace of Porphyrogenitus in the background, as they appear today in suburban Istanbul.

Send article as PDF to