Galata Tower

Galata Tower is located on a high hill in the European part of Istanbul. This is one of the main symbols of the city and a popular attraction – a huge number of tourists coming to Turkey come to see it.

History

The Galata Tower in Turkey has a long history. The first tower in its place built in the fifth century AD under the Emperor Justinian. The structure was wooden and did not last long. The stone Galata tower built in 1348 as a defensive structure. Then it called “The Tower of Jesus”.

Around there were fortress walls, from which today only ruins remain. The walls protected the area from the danger coming from the sea, but merchants who wanted to make a deal with Byzantium could approach the tower. The tower received its current name after Constantinople conquered by the Ottoman Empire.

Functions

At different times, it performed various functions: a lighthouse for merchant ships, a fire tower, an observatory and even a prison. At the same time, the building repeatedly restored.

The last works carried out in 1967: the dome of the tower redesigned, elevators erected, a restaurant opened on one of the upper floors, the wooden structures inside the tower replaced with concrete ones.

What to see

The Galata Tower in Istanbul is very popular. The reason for this is the restaurant, nightclub and observation deck. The tower has nine floors.

On the top floor of Galata, for a fee, you can take a beautiful photo, dressing in the national Turkish costume. The windows of the restaurant offer a magnificent view, which easily compensates for the far from low prices of the menu. There is a souvenir shop on the first floor of Galata where you can buy various souvenirs.

Observation deck

From the observation deck, located at an altitude of 52 meters, you can see the whole of Istanbul, the Sea of ​​Marmara and the Golden Horn Bay. It can climbed by a staircase consisting of 143 steps, or by an elevator. The site runs around the tower and a small structure, which always crowded.

In addition, it tilts slightly downward, which creates a feeling of instability. On the outskirts of the tower, there are masonry streets with steep ascents and descents.

How to get there

Galata Tower is located in the central part of the city. It can reach in several ways. Take a tram to the stop “Karakoy”, and then walk up the stairs to Istiklal street.

If you are walking along this street, reaching its end, you can turn right and find yourself in the square where the Galata Tower is located. From the stop “Karakoy” you can take the metro “Tunel”, and then go to the Golden Horn Bay.

The Galata Tower is open to the public every day from early morning until late at night. The cost of visiting the observation deck is about thirteen lira.

Interesting Facts

• Galata known as Hezarfena. The famous flight of the Turkish Icarus associated with it. In the middle of the seventeenth century, the scientist Hezarfen Ahmet Chelyabi was able to fly from the roof of the structure to the shore of the Bosphorus Strait on a glider designed with his own hand.
• The tower suffered from fires, and in 1509 an earthquake almost completely destroyed the tower, but then it rebuilt.
• In the area of ​​the tower there are boutiques of leather goods, designer clothes and accessories.