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The wall of the Propontis was built almost at the shoreline, with the exception of harbours and quays, and had a height of 12-15 metres, with thirteen gates, and 188 towers and a total length of almost 8,460 metres, with further 1,080 metres comprising the inner wall of the Vlanga harbour. Several sections of the wall were damaged during the construction of the Kennedy Caddesi coastal road in 1956-57.
The wall's proximity to the sea and the strong currents of the Propontis meant that eastern and southern shores of the peninsula were comparatively safe from attack, but conversely, the walls had to be protected against the sea itself : a breakwater of boulders was placed in front of their base, and marble shafts were used as bonds in the walls' base to enhance their structural integrity.
From the cape at the edge of the ancient acropolis of the city (modern Sarayburnu, Seraglio Point), south and west to the Marble Tower, the Propontis Wall and its gates went as follows :
The first gate, now demolished, was the Eastern Gate or Gate of St. Barbara (Pylē tēs martyros Barbaras) after a nearby church, in Turkish Top Kapısı "Gate of the Cannon", from which Topkapı Palace takes its name. Unique among the seaward gates, it was, like the Golden Gate, flanked by two large towers of white marble, which in 1816 was used to construct the nearby Marble Kiosk of Sultan Mahmud II.
Twice it served as the entry-point for an emperor's triumphal return: in 1126, when John II Komnenos returned from the recapture of his ancestral Kastamonu, and in 1168, when Manuel I Komnenos returned from his victorious campaign against Hungary. Next was the gate known in Turkish as Değirmen Kapı "Millstone Gate", whose Byzantine name is unknown.
Close by and to its north stood the great Tower of Mangana, which was intended to hold the one end of the chain, planned (but probably never actually installed) by Manuel I Komnenos to close off the Bosporus, the other end being at a tower erected on the island of the modern Maiden's Tower (Kız Kulesi) off Chrysopolis (modern Üsküdar), known as Damalis (Arkla) in Byzantine times.
The next gate is now known as the Demirkapı "Iron Gate", and is an Ottoman-era structure. A Greek name is not known, and it is not known whether a gate stood there in Byzantine times. Behind these two gates extended the quarter of the Mangana "Arsenal", with its numerous monasteries, the most famous of which were those of St. George of Mangana, the Church of Christ Philanthropos, and of the Theotokos Hodegetria, and the Palace of Mangana.
Four small posterns, in two pairs of two, stand at the southern edge of the Mangana quarter, and probably serviced the numerous churches. The names, but not the identity, of two of them have been recorded, the Postern of St. Lazarus (pylis tou hagiou Lazarou), and the Small Gate of the Hodegetria, both named after the respective monasteries located near them. It is also probable that one of them is to be identified with the Postern of Michael the Protovestiarius. Further south, at the point where the shore turns westwards, are two further gates, the Balıkhane Kapısı "Gate of the Fish-House" and Ahırkapısı "Stable Gate".
Their names derive from the buildings inside the Topkapı Palace they led to. Their Byzantine names are unknown. The next gate, on the southeastern corner of the city, was the gate of the imperial palace of the Bucoleon, known in Byzantine times as the Gate of the Lion (Greek: Porta Leontos, in Latin Porta Leonis) after the marble lions that flanked its entrance, as well as Gate of the Bear (porta tēs arkoudas) after depictions of that animal at the quay. In Turkish it is known as Çatladıkapı "Broken Gate".
To the west of the Bucoleon Palace lies the Church of SS. Sergius and Bacchus, and the first of the harbours of the city's southern shore, that of the Sophiae, named after the wife of Emperor Justin II (r. 565-578) and known originally as the Port of Julian. A small postern is situated in front of the church, while the first larger gate, the Gate of the Sophiae (Porta tōn Sophiōn) or Iron Gate (Porta Sidēra), opened to the harbour.
In Turkish, it is known as Kadırgalimanı Kapısı, "Gate of the Harbour of the Galleys". Next was the Gate of Kontoskalion, modern Kumkapısı "Sand Gate", which opened to the late Byzantine harbour of the same name, intended to replace the long silted-up Harbour of the Sophiae.
The next harbour to the west is the large Harbour of Eleutherius or Theodosius, in the area known as Vlanga. The harbours are now silted up and known as the Langa Bostan park. Immediately before it to the east stands the gate known in Turkish as the Yenikapı "New Gate". A Latin inscription commemorates its repair after the 447 earthquake. It is usually identified with the Jewish Gate of late Byzantine times.
Immediately to the west after the harbour lies the next gate, Davutpaşa Kapısı "Gate of Davut Pasha", usually identified with the Gate of Saint Aemilianus (Porta tou hagiou Aimilianou), which is known to have stood at the junction of the sea wall with the city's original Constantinian Wall. That view however is disputed by Janin, as the junction of the walls occurred considerably to the west from the modern gate's location.
Further to the west, where the shoreline turns sharply south, stood the Gate of Psamathia (Porta tou Psamatha / Psamatheos), modern Samatya Kapısı, leading to the suburb of the same name. Further south and west lies the gate known today as Narlıkapı "Pomegranate Gate". Its Byzantine name is unknown, but is prominent on account of its proximity to the famed Monastery of St John the Studite.
The wall of the Propontis was built almost at the shoreline, with the exception of harbours and quays, and had a height of 12-15 metres, with 10 gates, 3 small gates, 188 towers and a total length of almost 8.460 metres, with further 1.080 metres comprising the inner wall of the Vlanga harbour. Several sections of the wall were damaged during the construction of the coastal road in 1956-57.
From the Marble Tower to the cape of St. Demetrius at the edge of the ancient acropolis of the city (modern Seraglio Point), the wall's gates were :
1. the Gate of St. John Studites, modern Narlikapı "Gate of Roses", which led to the important monastery of the same name.
2. the Gate of Psamathos (Porta Psamatheos, Turkish Samatya Kapısı), leading to the suburb of Psamathia.
3. the Gate of St. Aemilianus (Turkish Davutpaşa Kapısı), before the harbours of Eleutherios and Theodosios.
4. the Vlanga Gate (Porta Vlaggas), at the mouth of the River Lycus, within the harbours. It was demolished after the Ottoman conquest, and a new gate (Yenikapı) build in its place.
5. the Kontoscalion Gate (Porta Kontoskaliou, Turkish Kumkapı), at the harbour of the same name.
6. the Iron Gate, leading to and from the harbour of Sophia or Sophianon, also called harbour of Julian. In Turkish it is called Kadirgalimani Kapısı.
7. the Bull and Lion Gate, which led to the harbour and imperial palace of Bucoleon, in Turkish Çatladıkapı.
8. an unnamed gate, at the southeastern edge of the Imperial quarter, modern Ahırkapısı.
9. an unnamed gate, at the southeastern edge of the Imperial quarter, modern Balıkhane Kapısı (it lies immediately within the later perimeter of the Topkapı Palace).
10. the Gate of St. Lazarus (Porta Agiou Lazarou), at the ancient Temple of Poseidon.
11. the Postern of the Odegetria, at the Palace of Mangana, modern Demirkapı.
12. the Postern of Michael Protovestiarius, today Değirmen Kapı.
13. the Eastern Gate, in Turkish Top Kapısı, from which Topkapı Palace takes its name.
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