Yedikule Zindanları
Yedikule Fortress is one of the most important historical and cultural heritage of Istanbul.
For centuries, the dungeons continued to serve as a place where foreign political criminals and important Ottoman statesmen who were dismissed by the palace were imprisoned and tortured. This led to Yedikule becoming the subject of legends and rumors that it was cursed. One of the most common legends about Yedikule Dungeons is the pagan curse. According to the legend, a pagan imprisoned in the dungeons died after being tortured to death. Before dying, the pagan wished that the souls of the tortured people would be trapped inside the dungeons and on the walls until the day Christ would come to earth.
Simeon of Poland:We saw many amazing buildings, both old and new, and palaces for viziers, pashas, aghas and zaims, with beauty worthy of kings. The city has 24 gates, eighteen on the coast and six on land. Since the city is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, the waves constantly beat the walls. One of the gates is Yedikule, a very solid fortress. Great princes, barons and khans who were captured and imprisoned were locked in this castle. On the castle gate, many large human figures were carved out of white marble.
Guillaume-Joseph Grelot: In the past, it was one of the entrance gates of the city and consisted of four towers. It was called the Golden Gate both because it was decorated with gold ornaments and because it was one of the most beautiful entrances of Istanbul, displaying the splendor of the city. Official entrances to the city were made from here. There are two large white marble bas-reliefs on the Golden Gate.
One shows a man sleeping on his arm and a goddess descending from the sky with a torch in her hand. These may be Endymion and the Moon Goddess Selene who came to see him. The other, if I am not mistaken, depicts nine muses and the winged horse Pegasos. Michel Baudier: This place is guarded by 250 soldiers. After the conquest of Istanbul, the first sultans used to put their treasures in these towers. One tower was filled with gold bars and gold coins, another with silver bars and silver coins. In another tower were various weapons and war equipment, gold, silver and jeweled horse tack; in the fifth tower were old armor, medals and precious objects from ancient times; in the sixth tower were various instruments of war; in the seventh tower were the official documents of the empire.
In a gallery adjacent to the seventh tower, precious booty brought by Selim I from Tehran after his victory in Persia was placed. All these treasures remained in Yedikule until the time of Selim II. Selim IIs son Murad had the treasure transferred to the palace and Yedikule became a prison for dignitaries whose execution was not favored by the government.
Guillaume-Antoine Olivier: On our way to Yeşilköy, we saw the double dykes and double walls built to defend the city of Istanbul from land. We observed that these walls, which had been built at various dates, remained in a good and strong condition despite many attacks. On our way back, we wanted to see the walls built for the defense of Istanbul from the sea, extending from one end of the harbor to the other, all the way to the vicinity of Eyüp. The next day we took a boat and in an hour and a half we arrived in front of the small, round castle at the southern end of the city, known as Yedikule.
Today it is no longer a castle, but a dungeon where ambassadors and other representatives of foreign states at war with the Ottoman Empire are imprisoned. Nikolay Sergeyeviç Vsevolojski: This grandiose view of the city causes astonishment and admiration in those who see it for the first time. Directly opposite our ship was the Jeralskiy Dvrety (Palace) with its houses, towers and various gardens. The palace is located on the site of the old Byzantine palace and covers the entire width of the city. Its distinctive architecture, splendor and majestic appearance inevitably reminds one of a thousand and one nights. The Sultans pier, where the colorful and gilded lifeboats appear, dazzles the eyes. The Marmara Sea starts from here. Exactly from the palace, you see the old city walls stretching from the right coast to the Yedikule dungeon.