Turkey Guide
İstanbul
The sea walls
Address: Near Küçük Ayasofya Camii
At Küçük Ayasofya Camii you're almost down at the Sea of Marmara and close to the best-preserved section of the sea walls, built in 439 by Cyrus, prefect of the East. They originally stretched from Saray Burnu to the city walls of Constantine the Great, and were later extended by Theodosius to meet his land walls, with thirteen gates piercing the eight-kilometre course. Theophilus, the last Iconoclast emperor, rebuilt the walls in the ninth century to hold off a possible Arab invasion.
About halfway between Küçük Ayasofya Camii and the Cankurtaran train station the facade of the Palace of Bucoleon, a seaside annexe to the Great Palace of the Byzantine emperors, is one of the most melancholy and moving survivors of Constantinople. The Great Palace was an immense structure, covering around five square kilometres from Sultanahmet to the sea walls. At its height it consisted of several separate palaces, including the Palace of Bucoleon and the Magnaura Palace – substantial sections of which also survive.