İstanbul · Beyoğlu · Turkey

Galata Kulesi

Galata Tower

ViewpointHistoric photo spotgoogle verified

moderate

9/10

best: sunset

romantic

A local would say...

In 1632, Hezarfen Ahmed Çelebi allegedly flew from the tower across the Bosphorus using artificial wings — history's first intercontinental flight. Sultan Murat IV rewarded him with gold, then exiled him for being 'too dangerous to keep around.'

This cylindrical stone tower has watched over the Golden Horn since 1348, when Genoese merchants built it as the apex of their fortified colony. Climb to the top for a 360-degree panorama that takes in the minarets of Sultanahmet, the Bosphorus shipping lanes, and the sprawl of the Asian shore. At sunset, when the muezzins of a hundred mosques begin their call in sequence, it's one of Istanbul's most magical moments.