Face of the Second Castle on the Asiatic Side (Kale-i Sultaniye (today's Çimenlik Castle)- The Old Castle on the Asiatic Side - Face of the Second Castle on the European Side (Kilitbahir Castle)- The Old Castle on the European Side

Description

This engraving depicts the four fortress systems that formed the basis of the Dardanelles' historical defensive architecture. European travelogues of the 17th and 18th centuries describe the Bosphorus passage as two continents, two new fortresses, and two old fortresses. The fortresses referred to as "second fortresses" in this classification are those built by Mehmed the Conqueror in 1463-64 to secure absolute control of the Strait: Kale-i Sultaniye (today's Çimenlik Castle) on the Anatolian side, and Kilitbahir Castle on the Rumelian side. The fortifications labeled "Old Castle on the Asiatic Side" and "Old Castle on the European Side" in the engraving represent earlier fortresses built for the Ottoman defense system.