Ever since we arrived in Istanbul, we’ve noticed a beautiful tower across the water, visible from many angles. We got close a couple of times, and then we actually made it all the way to Galata Tower. We thought it would be brilliant to go on a Sunday afternoon: not too many people lined up to get in. As often, we were wrong; there were hordes. So we went back on a Tuesday morning and made it happen.
Shades of Ancient Celts?
The tower is located in Beyoğlu, which is on the northern part of the Golden Horn (the waterway that divides the European side of Istanbul). It’s a short walk from Istaklal Cadessi. The district used to be known as Galata, whence the tower’s name. Theories abound about why it was called Galata. Our favourite is because it was the place where the Celtic Gauls (whom the ancient Greeks called Galatians) encamped when they invaded in the early 3rd century BCE. That’s probably not right, but we like it because it connects with the ancient world!
Building (and Restoring) the Tower
Galata Tower was originally built in 1348 by the Genoese colony living in that part of Constantinople. They called it the ‘Tower of Christ’ and made it part of the fortifications they built to protect their colony. After the Ottomans captured Constantinople in 1453, they disbanded the Genoese colony and pulled down the fortifications (but not the tower). For a time it was a prison and for a time it was a fire watchtower.
As you would expect of anything old in Istanbul, the tower has had its share of scrapes and bruises, including several fires. Reconstruction work followed. Then in 1875 a storm destroyed the tower’s roof, and the building remained roofless for a very long time. Only in 1965 did the Turks decide to restore the tower. At that time, they rebuilt the roof and they replaced the wooden interior with concrete.
The View from the Top
The building has eleven floors and is 205 feet (62.6 metres) tall. Until a few years ago, there was a restaurant at the very top. From the reviews that are still on Trip Advisor, it doesn’t sound like it was all that good. In any case, it’s now gone as of the 2020 renovation. The tower is now a proper museum with different exhibits on each of its floors. You can take an elevator most (but not all) of the way up.
There are lots of cool things in the building, but the main attraction of the tower is the 360-degree view from the top. You can actually go outside and walk all the way around. On the morning we were there, that was not as easy as it might sound. This being Istanbul, people crammed the walkway such that we made our way around very slowly. But not a problem since the views are spectacular, as you can see from the photographs. It made us realize that though Istanbul is amazing no matter where you look, a bird’s-eye view of the city is truly spectacular.
