English
The Galata Tower is one of the world´s oldest towers. It was built under the rule of Emperor Anastasius in 507. At first it was built of wood, to control access to the city from “The Golden Horn”. The one that stands today is not the original, which was a few hundred meters from the present site.
The current Galata Tower was built in 1348 to substitute the place of the old tower, destroyed during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Its construction was ordered during the expansion of the Genoese citadel of Galata, and although its erected in a different place, it became the highest point of the city and an essential bulwark for the defense of the city.
Its original name was Christea Turris, and was used as a surveillance platform to prevent attacks on the city during the Ottoman Empire, when it was partially renovated to function as an object of defense. Later, in the fifteenth century, it was used as a prison and later it resumed its role as a watchtower.
As a curiosity, we must remember that the first ever flight was made from this iconic tower. The Turkish Ahmet Çelebi Hezarfen managed to make that first air trip, thanks to a complex mechanism of wood and cloth, in about 1630. His flight departed from the Galata Tower and reached the hills of Üsküdar.
In the 1960s the tower underwent a complete renovation, which replaced the original interior of wood with concrete to prepared to be open to the public. they built a cafe and a restaurant at the top and became one of the favorite places for tourists visiting the city each year.
Currently has a height of 66.9 meters and nine plants, which made it the tallest building in the city when it was built. The base of the tower is 35 meters above sea level, which gave it a perfect strategic advantage for its initial purpose as a watchtower.
The area where the restaurant is located, is 51.65 meters high, thereby offering visitors a magnificent view of Istanbul, the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Princes´ Islands in the background,
In the restaurant, in addition to international cuisine it features Turkish dishes , the evening offers a show of traditional folk and that dazzles visitors at the Tower.
Climbing to the top of the Galata Tower is no more complicated than with any other towers as high or higher than this, astwo elevators were installed, which facilitate the entry and exit to the top.
The Galata Tower can be seen from many parts of the city, given its height and its presence it provides some of the most powerful images you can see from Istanbul
To know the history of the Galata Tower, along with the rest of this magnificent Turkish city it is advisable to search the best areas where to rent apartments in Istanbul and enjoy all that it offers its visitors.
