Browse Descriptions for: Galata Tower

Order By:

Mac

Rating: 0 | Votes: 0 | Date: 01/01/0001 00:00:00

The Galata Tower has watched over Istanbul for nearly seven centuries, its conical cap and stout stone cylinder rising above the steep streets of Beyoglu as one of the most recognisable landmarks on the European shore. It was built in the mid-fourteenth century by the Genoese, who held the district of Galata as a trading colony, and served as the high point of their fortified quarter; in Ottoman times it took on many roles, as a watchtower against fire, a prison, an observatory and a lookout. Le...