It is the fortress named as Bogazkesen (fortress commanding a strait) constructed by Mehmed the Conqueror in order to capture Istanbul in 1522 on the narrowest part of the strait of the European side of the city, just across the fortress on the Anatolian side.It was constructed in 4 months and its plan is rectangular with the length of 250 meters and width of 50-125 meters. The longer part of this rectangle reaches the sea.

At the north end ofthe rectangle there is the Sarıca Pasha Tower, at the south end there is the Zaganos Pasha Tower. There are three towers which took the name of their constructor Pashas. In the central part Halil Pasha Tower is located. On the surrounding walls of the fortress a road was constructed called the “Segirdim Road” it served as a defensive passage, that if the enemy forces could have been passed the surrounding walls and reached the Segirdim Road, they would have passed the towers in order to continue their ways.

Rumeli fortress lost its importance after the conquest of Istanbul by the Ottomans. As the time goes by wooden houses were built inside it and it turned out to be a residential area. In 1918 the fortress was almost repaired and restored, and in 1953 all the houses inside were demolished and the fortress had had a fully restoration. The garden was transformed in to a park and the minaret only remaining of the mosque located inside the fortress was demolished and using the inclination of the ground there constructed an open-air theatre. Recently, this theatre is used as a concert hall.

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