Galata Tower, one of the most iconic structures of Istanbul, illuminates the city with its colorful lights. Considered among the symbols of Istanbul, Galata Tower is one of the world's oldest towers and was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List in 2013 due to its historical and cultural importance.
History of Galata Tower
It is accepted that the Galata Tower was built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian in 507-508 as a Lighthouse Tower.
Galata Tower was used as a service building for trade with the Mediterranean and the Black Sea during the Genoese period. It got its current shape when it was rebuilt by the Genoese between 1348-1349.
Galata Tower was used as a fire watchtower, for holding prisoners of war, and for supplying warehouses during the Ottoman period. The tower, which was heavily damaged in the earthquake of 1509, was repaired by the Ottoman architect Murad bin Hayreddin.
In 1794, It was restored due to the great fire that occurred during the Sultan III. Selim period. In this process, the design of the tower was changed and a bay window was added to the upper floor.
After the second fire in 1831, which coincided with the reign of Sultan II. Mahmut, the tower's design was changed once again and restored. With this restoration, two floors and the famous conical roof were added and the top of the tower was closed.
Galata Tower, which was in danger of collapsing in 1963, was designed by master architect Köksal Anadol and restored between 1964-1967.
The last restoration was made in 2020 in partnership with Dendro.
The architecture of Galata Tower
Galata Tower, which is one of the focal points of Istanbul, has a cylindrical structure. It has 11 floors, a masonry rubble stone mesh system, a high entrance, and a basement floor. The part of the building up to the third floor reflects the Genoese architecture, while the other floors reflect the character of the Ottoman architecture. The thickness of the outer walls of the tower is 3.75 meters, the plan inner diameter is 8.95 meters and the outer diameter is 16.45 meters.
The building has a Romanesque architectural style, which is based on Roman and Byzantine architectural elements. The large jointed wall body windows on the Galata Tower walls are made of brickwork and have round arches. It is known that the round-arched window above the entrance door was used as a watchtower for the soldiers. In addition, there is a 16-line inscription, which was made during the reign of Mahmut II., at the entrance of the tower.
There are profiled moldings surrounding the body on the last two floors, just below the iconic cone roof of the tower. The floor under the roof is surrounded by a metal ornamented mesh viewing balcony.
Today, Galata Tower's height of 62.59 meters is one of the first tourist stops that come to mind for both Istanbulites and tourists to watch the 360-degree view of Istanbul and hold social and cultural events in the tower.
