Galata Tower In Istanbul

A Brief History of Galata Tower In Istanbul

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Give a deep dive into history and some of the cities you will find having histories more amazing than fairy tales like Rome, Greece, and besides them, one of the most historical cities the Istanbul.

For thousands of years, this city is living in the heart of the earth with its glorious history. Emperors after emperors this city has seen.

Power changed, lifestyle changed, people changed, but if something is unchanged, then it is the cities eternal beauty of structures that are made times after times.

Another interesting fact about this city is, it is the only city that is on two continents of Europe and Asia. Istanbul is the city that was once the wealthiest nation of Byzantine, which was later invaded by Muslim emperors and named Istanbul.

The Galata Tower is one of the glorious structures this city has. By the name, it may be only a tower made of stones, but in reality, it is a landmark that identifies the glory of the city for centuries.

Many structures have been decayed time after time, but this Galata Tower is still standing holding its architectural beauty.

It is not so clear that who is and how this tower was built. After having so many confusions and agree -disagree, historians finally were on the same table. They gave their consent about the establishment of this great structure at 507CE when the Byzantine Emperor Justinian was on power.

When established, this tower was known as ‘Christea Turris,’ which means the Tower of Christ, then the name changed depending on the reign.

At first, the shape of this tower was not as it is now. It went through repairs several times. The name we have mentioned was not given by the Byzantines.

Among the Byzantines, this tower was known as ‘Megalos Pyrgos,’ which means the Great Tower. The name ‘Christea Turris’ was given in the Genoese period.

After all these things, the actual revolutionary history of Galata Tower is recorded, most of which were by the Ottoman Empire.

In 1509, the tower faced a hazardous earthquake and got heavily damaged. Then it was newly shaped by the Ottoman architect Hayreddin who was the designer of many more known structures like the Sultan Bayezid ii complex in Edirne.

Then come other interesting facts. During the most known Ottoman Emperor, Sultan Suleiman The Magnificent, this tower was used as the prison for the ones sentenced to work in the Kasimpasa Naval Dockyard.

Then in the time of Sultan Murat iii, this tower again formed as a prison for almost 40 years from 1546 to 1595. Then in the 17th century, this tower was used as the military band house.

The dating history of this magnificent tower is now on your hands. This tower has more interesting facts. From the past histories until now, this tower can give a bird-eye view of the city, one in the highest peak.

As it is the round-shaped tower, a 360-degree view is promised. Once in 1794, this tower was under fire and almost destroyed, which was restored by Sultan Selim iii.

In 1831 it was caught up with another severe fire, and then it restored by Sultan Mehmet and got its shape what you can see today.

Two more stories were added to the tower, and conical-shape was given to its tomb, and now the tower measures almost 219 feet tall.

Not just by history but also it this tower have amazing stories related. It has been told that once a man named Hezarfen Celebi dreamt that he could fly from the top of this tower and so he tried and became successful in enjoying the beauty of the city through bird’s eyes.

This was just a mythical story actually because of which the man was later sent to exile by the Sultan Murad khan.

All in all, if you are the one fond of watching historical structures and want to explore the beauty of a later period, then nothing but the Galat Tower is the place for you which is now itself restored as a beautiful restaurant inside.

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