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The Galata Tower (Galata Kulesi) is one of Istanbul’s treasures. It sits in a square in the heart of Galata, in the Beyoğlu district surrounded by stores and restaurants.
History of the Galata Tower
Nobody is exactly sure when the first tower was built, but it’s believed the Byzantines constructed a lighthouse around 528. It was rebuilt in 1348 by the Genoese, who colonized the area in 1273. They called it the Tower of Christ (Christea Turris). Standing 9 stories and almost 67 meters high, this structure was the tallest in Constantinople at the time it was built.
A plaque on the exterior commemorates the presentation of the keys of the Galata colony to Sultan Mehmed II on Tuesday morning, May 29, 1453 – the day Constantinople fell to the Ottomans. After this, the tower was used for spotting fires. The Ottomans repaired it in 1510 and made some modifications, such as adding gun barrels on the 5th and 6th floors.
Flight Experiment
In the 17th century, Ottoman aviator Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi (1609-1640) used artificial wings to fly from the tower across the Bosporus to Üsküdar on the Asian side 6km away. An account by legendary Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi (1611-1682) tells the story in great detail:
First, he practiced by flying over the pulpit of Okmeydanı eight or nine times with eagle wings, using the force of the wind. Then, as Sultan Murad Khan was watching from the Sinan Pasha mansion at Sarayburnu, he flew from the very top of the Galata Tower and landed in the Doğancılar Square in Üsküdar, with the help of the south-west wind. Then Murad Khan granted him a sack of golden coins, and said: “This is a scary man. He is capable of doing anything he wishes. It is not right to keep such people,” and thus sent him to Algeria on exile. He died there.
Conical Roof
The conical roof of the Galata Tower was destroyed in a terrible storm in 1875. A cupola was constructed in its place, but the conical roof was reconstructed in 1967 during restoration of the tower.
Galata Tower Museum
After many years of hosting a restaurant and nightclub, the tower now functions as the Galata Tower Museum (Galata Kulesi Müzesi). It contains a few floors featuring historical artifacts as well as an outdoor observation deck at the top. Admission for foreigners is €30 (as of July 2025) or free for holders of the Museum Pass Istanbul or Museum Pass Türkiye. The tower is open daily and it’s best to go as soon as it opens in the morning. Queues during the rest of the day can be ridiculous. In my honest opinion, it’s terribly overpriced and I wouldn’t recommend visiting without a Museum Pass.
Observation Deck
First, you’ll ride an elevator to the top of the tower. It opens to a room with an interactive 3D map of Istanbul. Stairs then lead up to the outdoor observation deck.
From the observation deck, you can see the old city across the Golden Horn, including Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, and other important landmarks. Looking towards the north, you can see Taksim and the Bosporus.
At Sunset
If the crowds aren’t too bad, I recommend going up to the observation deck about a half hour before sunset. You get to see the city in the sunlight and then you can witness the changing colors and eventually the silhouettes as the sun sets to the west.
During the Call to Prayer
It’s also quite an experience to be at the top of the tower during the ezan (call to prayer). You can hear every mosque within earshot while watching the action down below. The first video is from my very first visit to the tower on November 2, 2010, and the second is from September 17, 2013.
Exhibits
After visiting the observation deck, you’ll continue back down to ground level using a series of stairwells. On each level down are exhibits displaying historic artifacts related to either the tower or the Galata neighborhood.
Some of the artifacts that caught my eye include marble panels with royal seals and Latin inscriptions. They date back to the 13th and 14th centuries, when Galata was a Genoese colony. There’s also a block of marble from the Bosporus Docks, dated 1912 with an inscription in French and Ottoman .
One of the final museum levels chronicles the period the Galata Tower was used as an observatory. There’s also an interactive exhibit allowing visitors to experience the flight of Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi.
Galata Konak Cafe
If you don’t want to pay the ridiculous ticket prices for the Galata Tower, the Galata Konak Cafe, just a short walk downhill, is a good alternative. You can ride the elevator up to the terrace and get pretty much the same views towards the old city, all while enjoying a glass of tea and some pastries.
