Istanbul’s city walls are over 1500 years old, but to this day, they are some of the most impressive city walls you can see. They were built to protect the Eastern Roman Empire from countless would-be invaders and held strong for over a thousand years. Today, you can walk sections, go up some of the old towers or just stand and marvel at this colossal structure.
A Brief History Lesson
No prizes for guessing who built the walls of Constantinople–from the name, you may have guessed that the city walls were built by someone called Theodosius, but this is only somewhat correct. Walls existed before the reign of Theodosius II, but he improved upon them greatly, leaving the walls you see today.
You may also be wondering why the walls of Constantinople were built in the first place and why they needed to be so formidable. Long story short, Constantinople, during the reign of Theodosius II (401–450 AD), was a rapidly growing and flourishing city that needed more space, hence why the new walls were built further away from the originals, significantly increasing the city’s walled area. Space aside, the flourishing city needed better protection from would-be invaders like Attila the Hun, who crossed the Danube and considered invading Constantinople in 441 and 443 AD but decided not to–probably due to the immense fortifications which had been finished in the nick of time.
How to Visit the Theodosian Walls
From my research prior to setting out, we decided to start walking from Ayvansaray up the Golden Horn and just past Balat–the old Jewish quarter (where there are pretty colourful houses). You can either get a ferry to Ayvansaray or the tram; we opted for the latter purely because it is faster, and we had already taken a ferry up to Rumeli Fortress.
At Ayvansaray, there are a few restaurants and shops. It’s a great place to get lunch/brunch before a bit of walking. I am a big fan of kebabs, and Istanbul is the place for it, so we settled on an Adana kebab restaurant. Adanas are more like big lamb skewers with a ton of different spices served with flat breads, tomatoes and a few other bits and bobs depending on where you get one. You put a bit of everything inside the flat bread and voila!
Walking Along Istanbul’s Walls
From Ayvansaray, you can see the start of the walls just before the motorway. There is a park on the outer side, which appeared to be a good place to start walking–it’s no royal gardens, and there are a few homeless people, but looking up at the walls from the outside gives you a sense of the wonder that must have struck medieval travellers and would-be invaders. From there, you can follow the walls until Eğrikapı–an ancient gate that lets you back into the old city.
Palace of the Porphyrogenitus
After strolling through the Eğrikapı gate, you can follow the walls up the hill to the Palace of the Porphyrogenitus or Tekfur Palace–a 13th-century Byzantine palace. It cost us 300 Turkish Lira, but check the website as prices change. 300 TL is far cheaper than most of the attractions in Istanbul, and when we visited Tefkur Palace, it was way quieter than any other attraction, probably because it’s quite a way out of town.
The palace has a great platform built atop the walls where you can look out over the newer parts of Istanbul. The main building has four stories with displays about Byzantine history on each level, and another viewing platform right at the top where you can see right along the walls.
Making a Day of It
From the Tekfur palace, there is plenty more to see, so we decided to carry on walking to the metro at Topkapı – Ulubatlı. On the way, you can see the Charisius Kapısı, which is the doorway through which the first Ottomans flooded into the city, ending the Byzantine Empire.
Walking from Ayvansaray to Topkapı – Ulubatlı is about 2.5 kilometres, but with plenty of stops and a few hours at Tekfur Palace took us well into the afternoon. If you look at the Istanbul city walls map, this section is only about a third of the walls’ entire length, so you could certainly carry on walking.
At the other end of the wall on the Marmara side, there is a giant fortress called Yedikule Fortress, unfortunately, we did not have time to visit, but it looks incredible–check out the website here for more info. You could even start the day at the end of the wall and walk back towards Ayvansaray.
Contemplating Constantinople
For someone who loves history, this place is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see thousands of years’ worth all at once. Even if you don’t love history, I guarantee the sheer scale of the Theodosian walls today will impress you.
So, next time you are in Istanbul, why not chuck on your trainers, hop on a tram, and make it out to one of history’s forgotten gems? The experience of walking along these ancient fortifications, imagining the countless stories they could tell, is pretty unforgettable. It’s an often overlooked journey through time that offers a unique perspective on Istanbul’s past.
