Çimenlik Castle
Kale-i Sultaniye (formerly Kal'a-i Sultaniye) or Çimenlik Castle is a castle which was built on the Asian shore of the Dardanelles in Turkey in 1452. Today, it is used as a museum. History The castle was erected on the Asian side of the Dardanelles in 1452, during the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror. Directly opposite the castle, on the European side of the Bosphorus, there is Kilitbahir Castle. The fortress was equipped with 30 cannons, and the 1,250-meter width of the Bosphorus was taken into gun range. The castle was strengthened in 1551 by Suleiman the Magnificent. It was partially renewed during the Cretan War with Venice, and completely renovated during the Napoleonic Wars by Selim III. Kale-i Sultaniye played a key role in the defense of the Dardanelles until World War I. The seaside walls were rebuilt in the late 19th century as a row of gun emplacements rather than a fortified wall. For this reason, the fort became the target of British and French ships in 1915. The artillery shell that was dropped from the British battleship HMS Queen Elizabeth on March 18, 1915 remained unexploded in the 2-meter hole it opened in the northern fortification wall, and