Galata Tower, Istanbul

The making of…

When the Genoese arrived in Galata, they established their own fortifications and a center for commerce, including the construction of the Galata Tower in 1267. They found the neighborhood in ruins, following one of the most jarring events in medieval history—the Sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders. This devastating blow hastened the decline of the Eastern Roman Empire, which never fully recovered from the destruction of 1204.

This building has endured the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire, and the creation of a new republic. When I was last in Istanbul, the building was covered due to restoration work, as it tends to happen with all of those famous landmarks!

Quick Facts:

  • Built in 1348 to replace another tower that was destroyed during the sack of Constantinople.

  • The first flight from one continent (Europe) to another (Asia) departed from the top of this tower. Around 1630, Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi jumped into the air wearing his bird-like wings and successfully flew across the Bosphorus, covering about 4 miles. The sultan was quite suspicious of him and exiled him to Algeria.

  • The Galata neighborhood was a colony of the Republic of Genoa, and it served as a base for their prolific trade in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

  • Over the years, it has served as a watchtower, a prison, fire observatory, a place of worship, and now, a museum.

  • It’s about 9 stories high, and when it was built it was the tallest building in the city.

  • It was built with incredibly robust walls for defense, at 3.75 meters (12.3 feet) thick, it’s almost impossible to penetrate them!

  • It’s a mix between the Byzantine and Genoese styles of architecture.

 

 

Get a little piece of Istanbul

Here are some of the formats that I’ve made this image into.

The Original

Reproduction

Sticker

Dive in a little deeper

Books set in Turkey

  • My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk

  • The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak

  • Istanbul by Orhan Pamuk

  • Istanbul Passage by Joseph Kanon

  • Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Books about Turkey

  • Strolling Through Istanbul by Hilary Sumner-Boyd and John Freely

  • Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul by Charles King

  • The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, and Caliphs by Marc David Baer

  • Byzantium: A Very Short Introduction by Peter Sarris

  • A Fez of the Heart: Travels around Turkey in Search of a Hat by Jeremy Seal

Turkish Arts and Crafts

  • Ottoman Miniature paintings

  • Iznik ware (15th-17th centuries) Nature motifs in beautiful ceramics.

  • Seljuk period - Highly decorated art and architecture.

  • Calligraphy and illustration of books