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Count Nikolai Tolstoy, nephew of writer and thinker Lev Tolstoy, toured Istanbul’s Yedikule Fortress—known as the Seven Towers—and spoke about his ancestor Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy, who served as ambassador in the Ottoman era and was held in the fortress dungeons.
“I have great respect for the Ottoman Empire. This is a prison, which is quite emotional for me because I always imagined my grandfather. I think he stayed here for two years,” he said. The visit was hosted by Fatih Mayor Mehmet Ergun Turan, and marked the count’s first trip to Türkiye.
Tolstoy noted that his ancestor wrote letters from the Yedikule dungeons to Moscow and wondered how they left such a heavily guarded place.
“These letters have survived to this day, but I cannot understand how he got them out of here. This must be one of the strongest prisons in the world,” he said.
Saying he loved Istanbul and felt the weight of centuries at every turn, Tolstoy added that he writes books on history and wants to see as much as possible.
He pointed to his stop at Fatih Central Library as especially memorable, saying he was impressed and doubted there was a similar library in England.
Asked about Lev Tolstoy’s writings on Islam and the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), he said the author left the Orthodox Church yet respected the Quran and the Prophet.
Mayor Mehmet Ergun Turan underlined that Istanbul has long hosted multiple cultures and that each historic site carries many stories. He recalled that Yedikule Fortress was used in a period to hold high-ranking detainees and that ambassadors could be imprisoned there when the Ottoman Empire declared war.
He added that the fortress stood closed for about 20 years and now welcomes visitors again while restoration continues, drawing thousands—and even tens of thousands—of people each year.
Turan said it was meaningful to host the 90-year-old Tolstoy in the city and that the visit was being filmed as a record for future generations. After touring the Yedikule dungeons, Tolstoy and his wife Georgina planned to take in other historic sites across Istanbul.
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