Galata Tower

Information about Galata Tower

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View of the Seraglio Point (Sarayburnu) on the Golden Horn as seen from Galata Tower, with the Sea of Marmara and the Princes' Islands in the background, and Kadıköy (ancient Chalcedon) at left, on the Asian side
The Galata Tower (Turkish: Galata Kulesi), also called Christea Turris (Tower of Christ) by the Genoese and Megalos Pyrgos (The Great Tower) by the Byzantines, is located in Istanbul, Turkey, to the north of the Golden Horn. One of the city's most striking landmarks, it is a huge, cone-capped cylinder that dominates the skyline on the Galata side of the Golden Horn.
Enlarge picture
Galata Tower
The tower was built as Christea Turris in 1348 during an expansion of the Genoese colony in Constantinople. It was the apex of the fortifications surrounding the Genoese citadel of Galata. The current tower should not be confused with the old Tower of Galata, an original Byzantine tower, named Megalos Pyrgos, which controlled the northern end of the massive sea chain that closed the entrance of the Golden Horn. This tower was on a different site and was largely destroyed during the Fourth Crusade in 1204.

The 66.90 m tower (62.59 m without the ornament on top) was the city's tallest structure when built.

The upper section of the tower with the conical cap was slightly modified in several restorations during the Ottoman period when it was used as an observation tower for spotting fires.

In 1638, Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi flew as an early aviator using artificial wings from this tower over the Bosphorus to the slopes of Üsküdar on the Anatolian side.

In the 1960s the original wooden interior of the tower was replaced by a concrete structure and it was opened to the public. There is a restaurant and café on its upper floors which commands a magnificent view of Istanbul and the Bosphorus. Also located on the upper floors is a nightclub which hosts a Turkish show. There are two operating elevators that carry visitors from the lower level to the upper levels. Entrance to the tower costs 10 New Turkish Lira. A notable restaurant in the tower is "Galata Evi Restaurant" which serves Georgian cuisine where customers can enjoy good food and above all, following their habits, can drink to satiety.

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Turkish (Türkçe, ] (help info )
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Comune di Genoa

Coat of arms

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Byzantine Empire or Byzantium is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople.
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State Party  Turkey
Type Cultural
Criteria i, ii, iii, iv
Reference 356
Region Europe and North America

Inscription History
Inscription 1985  (9th Session)
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Motto
Yurtta Sulh, Cihanda Sulh
Peace at Home, Peace in the World
Anthem
İstiklâl Marşı
The Anthem of Independence
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Golden Horn (Turkish: Haliç, Greek: Χρυσόν Κέρας – Chrysón Kéras) is an inlet of the Bosphorus dividing the city of Istanbul and forming a natural harbor.
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Galata or Galatae is a district in Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey. Galata is located at the northern shore of the Golden Horn, the inlet which separates it from the historic peninsula of old Constantinople.
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1348 in other calendars
Gregorian calendar 1348
MCCCXLVIII
Ab urbe condita 2101
Armenian calendar 797
ԹՎ ՉՂԷ
Bah' calendar -496 – -495
Buddhist calendar 1892
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Comune di Genoa

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Constantinople (Greek: Κωνσταντινούπολις, Konstantinoúpolis, or Πόλις, Polis
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The old Tower of Galata (Greek: Megalos Pyrgos, literally Great Tower) was a tower which stood on the north side of the Golden Horn in Constantinople, inside the citadel of Galata.
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Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was originally designed to conquer Jerusalem through an invasion of Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of the West invaded and conquered the Greek Orthodox city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire.
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1204 in other calendars
Gregorian calendar 1204
MCCIV
Ab urbe condita 1957
Armenian calendar 653
ԹՎ ՈԾԳ
Bah' calendar -640 – -639
Buddhist calendar 1748
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Ottoman Empire or Ottoman Caliphate (1299 to 1922) (Old Ottoman Turkish: دولت عالیه عثمانیه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish:
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8th century - 9th century - 10th century
850s  860s  870s  - 880s -  890s  900s  910s
885 886 887 - 888 - 889 890 891

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi (Turkish: Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi) (1609 – 1640), who lived in the 17th century in Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire, was the earliest known aviator to have succeeded in flying with artificial wings and landing safely.
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Aviator (common usage term: pilot, regulatory usage term: airman) is a person qualified in the operation of aircraft, whether for pleasure or as a profession.
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Üsküdar is a large and densely populated suburb of Istanbul, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus right opposite the heart of the great city, next to Kadıköy. It is home to about half a million people.
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Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century

1930s 1940s 1950s - 1960s - 1970s 1980s 1990s
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964
1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

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Their 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive.
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Bosporus or Bosphorus, also known as the Istanbul Strait, (Turkish: İstanbul Boğazı) (Greek: Βόσπορος
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Georgian cuisine is considered one of the main attractions for tourists in Georgia. Georgian cuisine is very specific to the Caucasus region and offers a variety of dishes, mostly high in salt and fat.
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The word drink is primarily a verb, meaning to ingest liquids. As a noun, it refers to the liquid that is ingested. It is often used in a narrower sense to refer to alcoholic beverages (as both a verb and a noun).
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Main article: Tower
The following fall under the definition of a tower which is a tall man-made structure, always taller than it is wide, and usually much higher.
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geographic coordinate system enables every location on the earth to be specified by the three coordinates of a spherical coordinate system aligned with the spin axis of the Earth.
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