Edirnekapi Walls

The Edirnekapi section of the Theodosian Walls stands out because of the massive, uneven stones that seem to erupt directly from the modern street level. These fortifications once marked the main processional entrance for Byzantine emperors returning in triumph. In fourteen fifty-three, the final emperor, Constantine the Eleventh, stood near this gate during the desperate, closing hours of the siege. He discarded his imperial regalia and disappeared into the fighting, leaving no trace, while the Ottoman army poured through these same crumbling defensive lines.