The Galata Tower ( tr, Galata Kulesi), officially the Galata Kulesi Museum ( tr, Galata Kulesi Müzesi), is an old Genoese
tower in the Galata part of the
Beyoğlu
Beyoğlu (, ota, بكاوغلی, script=Arab) is a district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city (historic peninsula of Constantinople) by the Golden Horn. It was known as the region of Pera (Πέρα, meani ...
district of
Istanbul,
Turkey. Built as a
watchtower at the highest point of the (lost) Walls of Galata, the tower is now an exhibition space and museum, and a symbol of Beyoğlu and Istanbul.
History
During the Byzantine period the Emperor Justinian had a tower erected in what was to become Galata. This tower was destroyed during the Fourth Crusade in 1204.
In 1267 a
Genoese
Genoese may refer to:
* a person from Genoa
* Genoese dialect, a dialect of the Ligurian language
* Republic of Genoa (–1805), a former state in Liguria
See also
* Genovese, a surname
* Genovesi, a surname
*
*
*
*
* Genova (disambiguati ...
colony was established in the Galata part of
Constantinople. It was surrounded by walls and the Galata Tower was first built at their highest point as the ''Christea Turris'' (Tower of Christ) in
Romanesque style in 1348 during an expansion of the colony. At the time the Galata Tower, at , was the tallest building in the city.
[Katie Hallam (2009). ''The Traveler's Atlas: Europe''. London: Barron's Educational Series.(2009), p. 118-119.]
After the Turkish
Conquest of Constantinople in 1453, the Genoese colony was abolished and the walls pulled down. The tower was allowed to survive and was turned into a prison. It was from its roof that, in 1638,
Hezarfen Ahmed Çelebi supposedly strapped on wings and made the first intercontinental flight, landing in the Doğancılar Meydanı in
Üsküdar on the Asian side of the city, a story of doubtful authenticity recounted by the Ottoman travel writer,
Evliya Çelebi.
From 1717, the Ottomans used the tower to look out for fires (on the Old Istanbul side of the city the
Beyazıt Tower served the same function). In 1794, during the reign of Sultan
Selim III
Selim III ( ota, سليم ثالث, Selim-i sâlis; tr, III. Selim; was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, the Janissaries eventually deposed and imprisoned him, and placed his cousin Mustafa ...
, the roof was reinforced in lead and wood, but the stairs were severely damaged by a fire. Another fire damaged the building in 1831, after which further restoration work took place.
In 1875, the tower's conical roof was destroyed during a storm.
[Galatakulesi.org: "Galata Kulesi: Kısa Tarihçe"]
It remained without this roof for the rest of the Ottoman period but, many years later, during restoration work between 1965 and 1967, the conical roof was reconstructed.
[ At the same time the tower's wooden interior was replaced with a concrete structure and it was opened to the public.
In 2020 the Tower was controversially restored then reopened as a museum. "Istanbul’s iconic tower reopens after restoration"]
Hurriyet Daily News, 7 October 2020. (Retrieved 27 November 2022.)
It is mainly popular for the 360-degree view of Istanbul visible from its observation deck.
Dimensions
The nine-story tower is excluding the ornament on the top. The observation deck is at . The tower is above sea-level. It has an external diameter of at the base, an inside diameter of , and walls that are thick.
Gallery
File:The Galata Tower in Liber insularum Archipelagi (1420s-1430s).jpg, Galata Tower after Cristoforo Buondelmonti
Cristoforo Buondelmonti (c. 1385 – c. 1430) was an Italian Franciscan priest and traveler, and a pioneer in promoting first-hand knowledge of Greece and its antiquities throughout the Western world.
Biography
Cristoforo Buondelmonti was born ar ...
, 1420s or 1430s
File:The Galata Tower in Liber insularum Archipelagi, Düsseldorf copy.png, Galata Tower after Cristoforo Buondelmonti
Cristoforo Buondelmonti (c. 1385 – c. 1430) was an Italian Franciscan priest and traveler, and a pioneer in promoting first-hand knowledge of Greece and its antiquities throughout the Western world.
Biography
Cristoforo Buondelmonti was born ar ...
, late 1480s
File:Matrakçı Nasuh - İstanbul (cropped-Galata).jpg, Galata Tower and Pera by Matrakçı Nasuh, 1537
File:French galleys of Captain Polin in front of Pera at Constantinople in August 1544.jpg, Galata Tower and Pera by Jérôme Maurand, 1544
File:Tour de Galatas - Lucas Paul - 1720.jpg, Galata Tower by Paul Lucas (traveller), Paul Lucas, 1720
File:Veduta della Torre di Galata da Settentrione - Comidas Cosimo - 1794.jpg, Galata Tower by Cosimo Comidas, 1794
File:Vue d'une partie de la ville de Constantinople, avec la pointe du Sérail, prise du Faubourg de Péra; Résidence des mi - Melling Antoine Ignace - 1819 (cropped).jpg, Galata Tower by Antoine Ignace Melling, 1819
File:Galata Tower (Francois Lemaitre, 1840).jpg, Galata Tower by , 1840
File:View of constantinople by evening light.jpg, Galata Tower by Ivan Aivazovsky, 1846
File:Galata Tower.jpg, Albumen print of the Galata Tower by Pascal Sébah, between 1875 and 1886
File:Night_Istanbul.jpg, Galata Tower at night
See also
* Anadoluhisarı and Rumelihisarı
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
The Apes Of Galata
- NFT Projesi (23 Nisan 2022)
External links
Video "Galata Tower, aerial video (4k Ultra HD)"
{{Tentative list of World Heritage Sites in Turkey
Towers in Istanbul
Buildings and structures in Beyoğlu
Golden Horn
Romanesque architecture
Buildings and structures completed in 1348
Tourist attractions in Istanbul
Fortified towers
14th-century establishments in the Byzantine Empire
Round towers
1348 establishments in Europe
World Heritage Tentative List for Turkey