Galata Tower

The Galata Tower (Ottoman Turkish: Galata Kulesi) was a medieval stone tower located in the Galata district of Constantinople, north of the Golden Horn. One of the city's most striking landmarks, it was a high, cone-capped cylinder that dominates the skyline and affords a panoramic vista of old Constantinople and its environs.

History

The tower was built as Christea Turris (Latin for Tower of Christ) 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 nine-story tower is 69.90 meters tall and it was the city's tallest structure when it was built.