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While palaces, waterside mansions, and mosques fill the middle
section of the Bosphorus,the part of
this magnificent waterway that meets with the Black Sea, is the
home of two military structures that face
each other from either side. Anatolian Fortress (Anadolu Hisari),
which was built long before the conquest of istanbul, was a sign for the
Ottomans to begin to strongly influence the Bosphorus, and Rumeli Hisari (Rumeli Fortress),
which can be seen as a sign of the impending conquest. The Anatolian Fortress is named for the
district in which it is located, Anadolu Hisari, where Goksu
Stream reaches the Bosphorus. The fortress is also
called Guzelce Hisar. Built by Sultan Yildirim Bayezid in 1395,
Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror added external walls at the time he
had Rumeli Fortress built. Bayezid's goal was to conquer
istanbul but after his defeat in Anatolia by Timurlane, his
campaign was halted. The fortress consists of the inner and
outer castles and the wall surrounding them. The inner castle is
composed of a rectangular, four level tower. The walls of the
iner castle join the northeast and northwest corners of the outer castle and are three meters thick.
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The outer castle walls, which join
with the inner walls, have many arches and three towers that
were built in order to protect the walls. The walls of the main
castle run 65 meters in the east-west direction and 80 meters in
the north-south direction and measure 2.5 meters in width. On
the outer walls there are strategically placed holes for cannons.
The Anatolian Fortress lost its military importance after the
conquest of istanbul and civilian settlement around it
intensified.
Today, with old wooden houses leaning against its towers and the
neighborhood that surrounds it, this small castle forms a
picturesque view. Some parts of the fortress complex, however,
have been demolished and new roads have been built.
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Anatolian Kavak and Lighthouse