Rumelihisarı (Fortress), located in the Sarıyer district of Istanbul, Turkey, on a hill at the European side of the Bosphorus. It gives the name of the quarter around it. It was built by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II between 1451 and 1452, before he conquered Constantinople. The three great towers were named after three of Mehmed II’s viziers, Sadrazam Çandarlı Halil Pasha, who built the big tower next to the gate, Zağanos Pasha, who built the south tower, and Sarıca Pasha, who built the north tower.
Rumelihisarı was built by Sultan Mehmed II between 1451 and 1452 in order to control the sea traffic on the Bosphorus strait and prevent aid from the Black Sea to reach Constantinople during the Turkish siege of the city in 1453, particularly from the Genoese colonies such as Caffa, Sinop and Amasra. In a previous Ottoman attempt to conquer the city, Sultan Murad II (1404–1451) had encountered difficulties due to a blockade of the Bosphorus by the Byzantine fleet.
Since 1960 Rumelihisarı has been a museum and an open-air theater for various concerts at festivals during the summer months.
Halil Pasha Tower, Rumelihisarı.
General view from Rumelihisarı, with the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in the background.
Beautiful. No health and safety here though. The walls are steep and ruinous but the climb is well worth it for the fantastic views over the narrowest part of the Bosphorus, and to sit in the peace and quiet and take in the views and take photos trying to capture just how fabulous the view is.
We got the tram…
This fortress is an amazing place! The setting is wonderful, being at the narrowest point of the Bosphorous and the views are brilliant. Hard to believe the massive structure was built in 1452 in ony 89 days, there must have been thousands working on it. The climb to the highest points are not for the faint hearted but are definitely…
After wanting to visit but looking at time-distance cost-benefit, we decided to view from a Bosphorus cruise. As much as I would have liked to walk the site…the combination of seeing it from the water along with other sites won out. Read the history of the site before the cruise and all is good.
We saw this from our Bosphorous cruise and thought we should try it out. We went to it via public bus the next day, which was very simple. We got the bus in front of Dalmache palace, and got off the bus a few hundred meters from the castle. The castle is somewhat well perserved and you are more or…
Defiantly worth the extra drive north of the city. Picturesque views over the fortress walls. To get the best views you have to do a little climbing and it can be a little frightening even for those who are not afraid of heights. Take sunscreen and plenty of water.
Take one of the many public buses up to the fortress, esp. if you can during a weekday. It's worth climbing around here, sans guardrails, just to take some amazing photos along the Bosphorus! Highly recommended!
I've been here twice. The first time there was a blizzard, but it the snow rendered a beautiful landscape that allows me to encourage others to visit Istanbul, even when it snows. The second time, it was about 70F and the view of the Bosphorous (?) is amazing. Anyway, take the boat ride from Eminenou to Rumeli Fortress and enjoy….
if you want to see the Anatolian side along with the Bosphorus this is a perfect place but it is not easy to climb as there is no elevator. At the bottom of the Fortress you can find small coffe shops and restaurants without any particular specialty.
I loved it..I have to admit it is unerving to look down and be like..oh darn i can fall!But the no hand rails is somewhat over rated..meaning I saw young kids with their parents and there was not really anyone per say freaking out.
The views were to die for.it took my breath away..it started raining and I sat there…
It was a nice place to walk around and climb the stairs and have good views of the Bosphorous along with it's bridge. I feel I got a lot of good exercise. It was disappointing that you couldn't really go into any of the towers. From Kabatas you can take any of the 22 or 25 buses. It's closed every…