Walls of Galata and Galata Tower

Galata Tower has dominated Beyoğlu‘s skyline since 1348 and still offers the foremost effective panoramic views of the town.

Above, the Golden Horn, Seraglio Point and Old Istanbul as seen from Galata Tower (looking south).

History of Galata Tower

The story is told of how, in 1638, a selected Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi attached wings to his body and flew (more likely coasted) across the Bosphorus to Üsküdar.

Why he did it once, nobody says, nor whether he survived…

Until the 1960s it had been a fireplace lookout tower. Now the upper floors hold the panorama balcony.

The panorama balcony, encircling the simplest row of windows, is narrow, receptive the weather, and not recommended for anyone suffering from acrophobia (fear of heights).

If you’d just like the total effect, be here at the time of a call to prayer, preferably the sunset call.

The balcony is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm (7 pm in summer). There’s an admission fee.

The neighborhood around the Galata Tower, derelict once I first came to Istanbul within the 1960s, was just about filled with the hüzün (melancholy) so emphasized in Orhan Pamuk’s wonderful memoir, Istanbul: Memories and thus town.

Selfies on the panorama balcony at dusk—what better souvenir?

In the past few years, however, the whole district from the Galata Tower uphill to Tünel Square, with its Swedish Consulate-General, Deutsche Schule (German High School), and other Ottoman-era institutions, has been extraordinarily gentrified.

Now you discover chic cafés, art galleries, design firms, boutiques, and restaurants in its narrow streets.

This is becoming a region where foreign visitors come and rent apartments/flats to enjoy the sights, sounds, flavors and pleasures of Beyoğlu.

The length of the Galata Tower

Originally named the Tower of Christ, the 66.9-meter (220-foot)-high tower was the highpoint within town walls of the Genoese colony called Galata. Most of the walls are long gone, but the good tower , with its 3.75-meter (12-foot)-thick walls remains.

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