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Ruins at Haramidere
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Ruins of a Byzantine structure are located along the Via Egnatia between Büyükçekmece and Küçükçekmece in the area of Haramidere. It has been suggested that it is the Aretai Palace. There is an Ottoman bridge by Mimar Sinan less than one kilometer to the west.

From The Alexiad by Anna Komnene

“Pushing on further the Komneni quickly seized the place called Aretai. This is a district lying close to the city and overlooking the plain, and to persons standing below and looking up to it, it looks like a hill; on the one side it slopes down to the sea, on the other, to Byzantium, but on the North and West sides it is exposed to all the winds; it has perennial supplies of clear, fresh water but is so utterly devoid of bushes and trees that you would have said the hill had been laid bare by woodcutters. Because of its pleasant situation and climate the Emperor Romanos Diogenes erected some fine houses suitable for kings for short periods of rest.”

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Ottoman bridge by Mimar Sinan on Via Egnatia

References

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Sources

The Alexiad by Anna Komnene

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Resources

Byzantine Thrace Album (Byzantine Legacy Flickr)

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