18 April 2025 The Theodosian City Walls (Again)

 Today was the day the rest of our tour was flying into Istanbul.  There was nothing planned for today, so we decided to try again to do the walk around the Theodosian City Walls that we did not do yesterday.

From the hotel we walked to the closest tram stop, about a 16-minute walk.  Fortunately, Bill stayed with me, and we were on the tram up to the Walls.  Once we left the tram station, you could see parts of the wall.  These are the best preserved of the original walls that encircled the city. 

The first defensive walls built around the Constantinople (referred to as the Walls of Constantinople) were constructed by Constantine the Great when Constantinople was founded and became the capital of the Roman Empire in 324 CE.  However, by the 5^th century CE, the city had grown and Theodosius II (408-450 CE extended the original walls by 4 miles so that they stretched from the shores of the Sea of Marmara to the Golden Horn.  This new stretch of walls are known as the Theodosian Walls.  As a result of these walls, the city of Constantinople was impregnable to enemy attacks for 800 years.  When completed they were not only the largest, but also the strongest and most complex walls built during the ancient and medieval eras.

The Theodosian Wall were built so they were almost unbreachable from the top of the wall.  Surrounding the outside of the Wall was a 25-foot deep and 60-foot wide moat with its own 6 foot tall wall.  Beyond the moat was a 61-foot wide raised terrace called the Parateichion and a 26-foot tall inner wall at the edge of the terrace that was up to 6 feet wide.  Beyond this wall was a 55-foot trench called Peribolos, and finally at the end of the trench was the massive 15 foot wide inner wall that had 96 65-foot tall towers and a few heavily guarded gates  Each tower could hold up to three artillery machines.

Here is a great cross section drawing of what the wall looked like at its peak.

Cross Section of the City Walls

Over the final 1000 years of the Byzantine Empire, invaders only got into Constantinople twice. the Theodosian Walls held up great and invaders only got into Constantinople twice.  In 1204 CE, Catholics of the 4^th Crusade, used ladders to climb over part of the sea wall and occupied Constantinople for 57 years until they were expelled from the city.

The second and final breach of the wall occurred in 1453, when the Ottomans attacked and conquered the city, thus ending the Byzantine Empire.  It is thought that the Ottomans had inside help as one of the gate to the city that led to the main Southern road had been left open  After the conquest, the Ottoman’s leader Sultan Faith Mehmet II rode victorious through Gate of Charisius onto the main Northern road into Constantinople.

                                                                Photos of the City Walls

 

After viewing the walls, we walked to the Chora Church (or Kariye Mosque as it is known today), known for its amazing mosaics.  First built as a simple chapel in the early 5^th century, it was located outside the city walls (Chora meaning “outside of the city”).  During the Crusaders occupation of Constantinople, Chora Church was heavily damaged, but it was rebuilt and expanded by Emperor Theodore Metochites in 1313.  It was then that the entire inside of the church was covered with mosaics and frescoes, considered by many to be one of the most beautiful examples of Byzantine art.  These works of art show scenes from both the Bible and the Torah, in addition to the story of the Virgin Mary.  Sometime between 1495 and 1511, the church was converted to a mosque and most of the mosaics were covered with plaster and paint.  In 1945, the building was secularized and turned into a museum.  The mosaics were cleaned and put back on display.  However, in 2020 the church was turned back into an active mosque and was closed to the tourists until 2024.  Unfortunately, when we arrived at the church we found it closed for the day.  Hopefully, we will get back to Istanbul some time in the future and will be able to see the mosaics.  Here are a few that I found on the internet.

This evening we met our trip leader Ahmet Memis and several members of our group.  The other couple from Colorado are from Idaho Springs – Charlie and Katey.  Charlie was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, so he and Bill have some common grounds to talk about.  We went to sleep early tonight as our OAT tour of Istanbul starts at 8:30 tomorrow morning.