the theodosian walls in all their glory...
begun during the rule of emperor theodosian the great (while he was still a child) the last tuler of a united roman empire.. the walls stood unbroken by enemies for more than a thousand years. they withstood half hearted attacks from huns (who had heard they had falled down after an earthquake) avars, bulgars, arabs, and many more peoples... only to fall after repeated attempts to turkish canon. the walls were solid enough, that they were repaired and maintained by the turks until the 19th century.
recent repairwork funded by unesco has failed to match the strength of the original walls.. in some cases during the 1999 earthquake, the repaired sections collapsed to reveal the original walls underneath.. i was in istanbul for the coldest part of winter.. so sorry that the pics are dull and grey.. trust me, it was sub zero cold the day i went out there..
repaired bastion showing the outer 2 walls (inner one not repaired)
looking towards the east
Gate of the Rhegium - the red gate... built under the patronage of the reds.. a chariot team of some financial clout.
another shot of the gate of the Rhegium
outer two walls repaired.. the inner wall can be seen peeking over the top.
inner two walls... this section burned out by vandalistic teenagers who were making it their playground..
i'll put up some pics of the aya sofia etc next if people like.. let me know if you want to add me to your flickr contacts.