Rumeli Hisari (Ottoman Fortification on the Bosphoros)

 

Unlike Anadolu Hisari, Runeli Hisari was designed to operate with the enlarged earlier fortress to close the Bosphoros with their massive new bronze cannon. These were sited close to the shore, almost at water level, so that their stone cannon balls skipped across the water like pebbles across a pond. Rumeli Hisari's first major action came on 10 November 1452, when it's guns opened fire on a pair of Venetian ships, which escaped. The Ottoman gunners adjusted their range and on 25 November they sank a large three-masted Venetian merchant galley that tried to run the blockade.

Key for the plan of Rumeli Hisari:

1. The Zaganos Tower;

2. Water Tower (Su Kulesi);

3. Saruca Pasa Tower;

4.Halil Pasa Tower;

5. Little Zaganos Pasa Tower (Kucuk ZaganosPasa Kulesi)

6. Ravine Gate (Sel Kapisi);

7. Mountain Gatee (Dag Kapisi);

8. Sentries Gate (Dizdaz Kapisi);

9. Barbican Gate (Hisarpece Kapisi);

10. Mosque;

11. Cistern;

12. Fountain;

13. Wells;

14. Barbican (Built sometime later);

15. Ground level Embrasures for heavy cannon.

Reference:

D. Nicolle, "Ottoman Fortifications 1300-1710," Fortress 95, Osprey Pub., P. 47