The Galata Tower, or the Galata Tower Museum, as it was called after it began to be used as a museum, is a tower located in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey. It takes its name from the Galata district where it is located. Built as a watchtower within the Galata Walls, the tower is now used as an exhibition space and a museum. It is one of the symbolic structures of both Beyoğlu and Istanbul.
The Genoese, who were in alliance with the Byzantine Empire, established a colony called "Pera" in Galata, located to the north of the Golden Horn, in 1267, and expanded the dominance of this colony with the permissions given by Byzantium. The tower, which was called the "Holy Cross Tower" (Turris Sancte Crucis) at that time because of the cross on its top, was built as a part of the fortifications made in the region between 1335 and 1349 by increasing its dominance towards the hill in the northeast direction, contrary to these permissions. The war that broke out that year between the two states ended with the treaty signed the following year, while the hill where the tower was located was left to Genoese control. After the capture of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire on May 29, 1453, the Genoese in Pera handed over the colony to the Ottomans without any conflict. Although some damage was done in the fortifications in Galata, including the tower, the Ottoman Sultan II. With the edict of Mehmed, the destruction of the tower was stopped and the destroyed parts were rebuilt. The tower, which was damaged in the earthquake in 1509, was repaired by 1510. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the prisoner of war and supply warehouse was used as a fire tower by the Mehterhane Hearth and fire watchers in the 18th century.
During the repair works after the fire in 1794, the design of the tower was changed and the upper part was turned into a coffee house. After the fire in 1831, its design was changed once again. After the roof collapsed in a storm in 1875, two wooden floors of masonry were placed on the top floor, and this part was used for monitoring and reporting the fires in the city. With the restoration work between 1965-1967, the tower was arranged as a touristic structure with different floors serving different purposes, while the roof of the tower was renewed similar to the design between 1832-1876. In this period, it was leased from Istanbul Municipality and started to be operated by the company belonging to Ünal Brothers and his heirs in the following period. In 1999-2000, a restoration was carried out on the exterior. In 2013, BELTUR, a subordinate of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, took over the business. In this period, there were a cafe and a restaurant on the top two floors of the tower. In the same year, it was included in the World Heritage Tentative List in Turkey by UNESCO. In 2019, its ownership and operation passed to the General Directorate of Foundations. After the works carried out in 2020, the tower was organized and started to be used as a museum and exhibition space.
The cylindrical body of the Romanesque style masonry tower, which is 62.59 m high to the tip of its roof, is made of stone. It has 11 floors, including a basement, ground floor and mezzanine. While there is an elevator between the ground floor and the sixth floor, there are stone stairs from the ground floor to the fourth floor, and steel construction stairs from the sixth to the eighth floor. The cone-shaped roof covering its top is reinforced concrete. Today, the ground floor of the tower serves as the ticket control and security point, while the entrance to the elevator that reaches up to the sixth floor is located here. While the first floor is the museum store, the next three floors are the simulation area with a screen showing an animation of Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi's gliding from the Galata Tower, and the works about the period when the tower was used by Takiyüddin; Photographs of the War of Independence; Information and works of Galata Tower and Walls; They are permanent museums and exhibition areas where works related to the Galata Tower and Istanbul are located. On the seventh floor, which is the temporary exhibition area after the sixth floor, which is a transition area, there is a model showing a part of Istanbul and viewing binoculars located in front of the windows, while the eighth floor is arranged as a viewing terrace. The exterior of the tower and the area surrounding the tower are used for awareness initiatives, commemoration or celebration on some special days.
The Galata Tower is located at the top of the city walls at the top of the map in the copy of the Liber insularum Archipelagi by Cristoforo Buondelmonti, dated to around 1420s and 1430s, in the Marciana National Library.
The Genoese, allied with the Byzantine Empire, established a colony called "Pera" in Galata, north of the Golden Horn, in 1267. The Genoese, who inappropriately expanded their dominance towards the hill in the northeast of the region, built walls and towers surrounded by ditches on the slopes of this hill between 1335 and 1349. The main tower of the city walls, known today as the Galata Tower, was built in 1348 to protect the coastal part of the colony on the plain in a siege that could be made from the land as well as being a watchtower. In front of the tower, adjacent to the building on both sides, was a barbakan projecting in a semicircle from the straight line of the ramparts. Pera's main entrance was also located at this place where the four fortification lines intersect, and according to the plate on it, this part was the last fortification built before Pera came under the control of the Ottoman Empire, with its construction completed on April 1, 1452. During this period, the tower was known as "Turris S. [Sancte] Crucis" ("Tower of the Holy Cross") because of the cross on top.
In August 1348, a war broke out between the Byzantines and the Genoese, caused by commercial conflicts.[2] After this war ended with the Byzantine victory in 1349, peace was ensured, while the Byzantine Emperor VI. With an edict issued by Ioannis, the control of the hill where the Galata Tower is located was given to the Genoese.
With its letter dated 17 April 2019, the General Directorate of Foundations made an application to transfer the ownership of the tower to them on behalf of the Kule-i Zemin Foundation, based on Article 30 of the Foundations Law.[50][51] After the application, the ownership of the tower passed to the General Directorate of Foundations on behalf of the Kule-i Zemin Foundation as of 13 May 2019, and the Municipality remained in the tenant status of the tower.[51] While the legal initiative initiated by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality against this transfer was inconclusive, the lease agreement issued on behalf of BELTUR ended as of 31 December 2019.
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced on January 18, 2020, that expropriation works will be carried out around the tower and a square will be created around the tower within the scope of the tourism, culture and art project called "Beyoğlu Culture Road", which also includes the Galata Tower.[53] As of April 2020, the process regarding the evacuation of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality from the tower was initiated, while the legal initiative of the Municipality against it was negative, and as of May 16, 2020, the ownership of the tower passed to the Istanbul Foundations 1st Regional Directorate on behalf of the Kule-i Zemin Foundation.
ES Yapı, which won the tender for the restoration works, started work on the tower as of June 30, 2020.[57] While the works in the 1960s and all the elements and decorations added to the interior were removed afterwards, restoration and renovation works were carried out on both the interior and exterior.[58][59] Organized as an exhibition center and museum, the tower was reopened as Galata Tower Museum on October 6, 2020, the anniversary of the Liberation of Istanbul.[60]
Within the scope of the works, a ticket office with the design of the Taksim-Tünel nostalgic tramway was placed in the square outside the tower.[61] The ground floor was arranged to consist of the ticket control and security point and the entrance to the elevator that reaches up to the sixth floor. The first floor was turned into a museum store.[61] The second floor was arranged as a simulation area, with a screen showing an animation of Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi's gliding from the Galata Tower, and began to include an exhibition space about this and the period when the tower was used as an observatory.[61][62] The third floor was renovated as permanent exhibition areas where photographs of the War of Independence, the fourth floor information and artifacts of the Galata Tower and its Walls, and the fifth floor of Galata Tower and artifacts related to Istanbul are exhibited.[61] A model showing a part of Istanbul and viewing binoculars placed in front of the windows were placed on the seventh floor, which is the temporary exhibition area, which is reached after the sixth floor used as a transition area.[61] The eighth floor was arranged as a viewing terrace.[61]