The Fortress of Anatolia (Asia) was built by order of Sultan Beyazıt I in 1393–1395 and it was the place from which he launched the first Ottoman attack on Constantinople. A road was punched through its defensive wall in the 20th century and it is now dwarfed by the huge Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. It is now little but an evocative ruin.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

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1. Küçüksu Kasrı

0.27 MILES

This ornate hunting lodge was built in 1856–57 by order of Sultan Abdül Mecit. Earlier sultans had built wooden kiosks in this idyllic spot where the…

2. Köprülü Amcazade Hüseyin Paşa Yalı

0.43 MILES

A cantilevered box-like structure built for one of Mustafa II's grand viziers in 1698, this is the oldest yalı on the Bosphorus and was undergoing a major…

3. Kıbrıslı (Cypriot) Yalı

0.45 MILES

Dating from 1760, this long white yalı on the shore between Kandilli and Kuçüksu was built for Grand Vizier Mehmed İzzet Paşa, who served in this position…

4. Kont Ostrorog Yalı

0.51 MILES

Built in the 19th century by Count Leon Ostrorog, a Polish advisor to the Ottoman court, this huge red yalı was visited by French novelist Pierre Loti in…

5. Rumeli Hisarı

0.58 MILES

Prior to construction of the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in the 1980s, this massive fortress was the major landmark on this part of the Bosphorus. Built by…

6. Hekimbasi Salih Efendi Yalı

0.59 MILES

Extensively damaged in 2018 when an out-of-control Maltese-flagged tanker crashed into it, this 18th-century yalı just north of Anadolu Hisarı was built…

7. Aşiyan Museum

0.68 MILES

It’s quite a hike up to this small house-museum, named after the Turkish word for ‘bird’s nest’, but the stunning Bosphorus views may well inspire you to…

8. Zarif Mustafa Paşa Yalı

0.72 MILES

Built in the early 19th century by the official coffee-maker to Sultan Mahmut II. Look for the upstairs salon, which juts out over the water and is…