Rumeli

Today I spent the afternoon in one of the most beautiful and intact fortress I have ever seen. It made the walls around Quebec look like a pile of rocks. For just 5 lira (I would have paid a hundred to see something like this in Canada) I was granted entry into Rumelihisariustu (I think this is right), a fortification built by the invading Turks in 1452 as a base of operation while they prepared to invade the walls of Constantinople (5 or so miles away). Remarkably, it was built in 4 month and has stood almost perfectly in tact since then. I spent a few hours wandering around and reading Cyrano. It was a perfect oasis in a city of 12 million. I am sure I will spend more time there if I want a quite place to read, reflect and exercise.



This picture offers a sense of the fort in relation to the Bosphorus. The fort was built in a strategic location on the Bosphorus, which allowed the Turks to cut off Constantinople to the south.
The stairs were very steep and narrow, and they went around the entire fortification. The drop off at times was at least 100 feet and there were no stairs.
This is an example of some of the creeping vine along the walls.

There was a little forrest inside with a numer of beautiful trees.