Galata Tower

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View of the Seraglio Point (Sarayburnu) on the Golden Horn as seen from Galata Tower, with the Sea of Marmara and the Princes' Islands in the background, and Kadıköy (ancient Chalcedon) at left, on the Asian side

Galata Tower as seen from the entrance of the Golden Horn, with the Galata Bridge seen at left

Albumen print of the Galata Tower, taken by J. Pascal Sébah, sometime between 1865-1895. From the A.D. White collection of architectural photographs at the Cornell University Library system. In this image, it is possible to see the earlier cupola that occupied the top of the tower during most of the Ottoman period and which enabled the use of the structure as a fire tower.

The Galata Tower (Galata Kulesi in Turkish) — called Christea Turris (Italian, "Tower of Christ") by the Genoese — is a medieval stone tower in the Galata district of Istanbul, Turkey, just to the north of the Golden Horn. One of the city's most striking landmarks, it is a high, cone-capped cylinder that dominates the skyline and affords a panoramic vista of Old Istanbul and its environs.

Galata Tower (1348)

[edit] Description

The nine-story tower is 66.90 meters tall (62.59 m without the ornament on top, 51.65 m at the observation deck), and was the city's tallest structure when built. The elevation at ground level is 35 meters above sea-level. The tower has a diameter of 16.45 meters at the base, with 8.95 meters diameter inside, and with walls 3.75 meters thick.

There is a restaurant and café on its upper floors which commands a magnificent view of Istanbul and the Bosphorus. Also located on the upper floors is a nightclub which hosts a Turkish show. There are two operating elevators that carry visitors from the lower level to the upper levels. Entrance to the tower costs 10 YTL (New Turkish Lira).

[edit] History

The tower was built as Christea Turris in 1348 during an expansion of the Genoese colony in Constantinople. It was the apex of the fortifications surrounding the Genoese citadel of Galata. The current tower should not be confused with the old Tower of Galata, an original Byzantine tower, named Megalos Pyrgos, which controlled the northern end of the massive sea chain that closed the entrance of the Golden Horn. This tower was on a different site and was largely destroyed during the Fourth Crusade in 1204.

The upper section of the tower with the conical cap was slightly modified in several restorations during the Ottoman period when it was used as an observation tower for spotting fires.

According to the Seyahatname of Ottoman historian and traveller Evliya Çelebi, in circa 1630-1632, Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi flew as an early aviator using artificial wings for gliding from this tower over the Bosporus to the slopes of Üsküdar on the Anatolian side.^[1] Evliyâ Çelebi also tells of Hezarfen's brother, Lagari Hasan Çelebi, performing the first flight with a rocket in a conical cage filled with gunpowder in 1633.

In the 1960s the original wooden interior of the tower was replaced by a concrete structure and it was commercialized and opened to the public.

Panoramic view of the Golden Horn in Istanbul, as seen from the Galata Tower. The Galata Bridge can be seen in the center of the picture. The Seraglio Point (Sarayburnu) where the Topkapı Palace is located is seen at the left tip of the historic peninsula; followed by (left to right) the Hagia Sophia, the Sultan Ahmed (Blue) Mosque, the Yeni (New) Mosque near the Galata Bridge, the Beyazıt Tower rising high in the background, and the Süleymaniye (Suleiman the Magnificent) Mosque at far right, among others. The Sea of Marmara and the Princes' Islands are seen in the background, on the horizon. At the extreme left of the picture, the district of Kadıköy (ancient Chalcedon) on the Asian side of the city can be seen. Behind the Galata Bridge, towards the horizon, the Column of Constantine (which was surrounded by iron bars for restoration at the time of this photo) rises.

[edit] See also

• List of towers

[edit] References and notes

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Galata Tower

• Visit Galata Tower at imageLinka
• Galata Tower Photographs
• Galata Tower Official Web Page

Coordinates: 41°1′32″N 28°58′27″E / 41.02556°N 28.97417°E / 41.02556; 28.97417