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Founding
Founding of Galata Tower
historical tower in İstanbul
- 1349
- Middle East
Founding
historical tower in İstanbul
Fetching the article from Wikipedia…
Galata Tower (Turkish: Galata Kulesi), or Galata Tower Museum (Turkish: Galata Kulesi Müzesi), its name since it began to be used as a museum, is a tower located in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul. It takes its name from the Galata neighborhood where it stands. Built as a watchtower within the Walls of Galata, the tower has served various purposes over different periods and has functioned as an exhibition venue and museum since 2020. It is one of the landmark structures of both Beyoğlu and Istanbul.
In 1267, the Genoese, who were allied with the Byzantine Empire, established a colony called "Pera" in Galata, north of the Golden Horn, and gradually expanded their sphere of control with permissions granted by the Byzantines. Known at the time as the "Tower of the Holy Cross" (Turris Sancte Crucis) because of the cross at its summit, the tower was built between 1335 and 1349 as part of the fortifications constructed in the area, after the Genoese expanded their sphere of control toward the hill to the northeast in violation of these permissions. The war that broke out between the two states that year ended with a treaty signed the following year, and the hill on which the tower stood was placed under Genoese control. Following the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Empire on 29 May 1453, the Genoese in Pera surrendered the colony to the Ottomans without resistance. Although some damage was inflicted on the fortifications in Galata, including the tower, destruction of the tower was halted by decree of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, and the damaged sections were rebuilt. The tower, which was damaged in the earthquake of 1509, was repaired by 1510. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was used to house prisoners of war and as a supply warehouse; from the 18th century onward, it was used as a fire lookout tower by the Mehterhane corps and fire watchers.
Following the fire of 1794, repairs altered the tower's design, and its upper section was converted into a coffeehouse. Its design was changed once again after the fire of 1831. After its roof collapsed during a storm in 1875, two timber-framed masonry floors were added above the top floor, and this section began to be used to observe and report fires in the city. During restoration work between 1965 and 1967, the tower was arranged as a tourist attraction with floors serving different purposes, and its roof was renewed in a style resembling its design between 1832 and 1876. During this period, it was leased from the Istanbul Municipality and operated by Ünal Kardeşler and, subsequently, by a company belonging to their heirs. Its exterior underwent restoration in 1999–2000. In 2013, BELTUR, affiliated with the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, took over its operation. At that time, the top two floors housed a café and a restaurant, respectively. That same year, it was included on UNESCO's Tentative List of World Heritage Sites. In 2019, ownership and operation passed to the Directorate General of Foundations. Following work carried out in 2020, the tower was converted into a museum and exhibition venue. Restoration work was undertaken on its roof in 2023.
The masonry tower, built in the Romanesque style, stands 62.59 m tall to the tip of its roof. Its cylindrical shaft is made of stone. It has 11 floors, including a basement, a ground floor, and a mezzanine. An elevator runs from the ground floor to the sixth floor, while stone stairs extend from the ground floor to the fourth floor and steel-structure stairs from the sixth to the eighth floor. The conical roof covering the summit is made of reinforced concrete. Today, the ground floor serves as a ticket-control and security area, and the entrance to the elevator reaching the sixth floor is also located there. The first floor houses the museum shop. The next three floors contain permanent museum and exhibition areas featuring, respectively, a simulation area with a screen showing an animation of Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi gliding from the Galata Tower, exhibits concerning the period when the tower was used by Taqi al-Din, photographs from the Turkish War of Independence, information and artifacts relating to the Galata Tower and its walls, and exhibits about the Galata Tower and Istanbul. Beyond the sixth floor, which serves as a transitional area, the seventh floor is a temporary exhibition space containing a scale model depicting part of Istanbul and viewing telescopes positioned by the windows. The eighth floor is arranged as an observation terrace. The tower's exterior and the surrounding area are also used on certain special and designated days for awareness campaigns, commemorations, and celebrations.
In 1267, the Genoese, who were allied with the Byzantine Empire, established a colony called "Pera" in Galata, north of the Golden Horn. The Genoese expanded their sphere of control toward the hill northeast of the area without authorization and, between 1335 and 1349, built fortification walls and towers surrounded by moats on the slopes of the hill. The structure now known as the Galata Tower was built in 1348. In addition to serving as a watchtower, it was the principal tower of the fortifications intended to protect the colony's coastal section on the flat ground against a possible land-based siege. In front of the tower stood a barbican that projected in a semicircle from the straight line of the walls and was attached to the structure on both sides. This area, where four lines of walls converged and the main entrance to Pera was located, was the last fortification built before Pera came under the control of the Ottoman Empire. According to the plaque there, its construction was completed on 1 April 1452. During this period, the tower was known as "Turris S. [Sancte] Crucis" ("Tower of the Holy Cross"), after the cross at its summit.
In August 1348, a war broke out between the Byzantines and the Genoese as a result of commercial disputes. After the war ended in 1349 with a Byzantine victory, peace was established, and that same year a decree issued by Byzantine Emperor John VI transferred control of the hill on which the Galata Tower stood to the Genoese.
Following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople on 29 May 1453, the Genoese in Pera surrendered the colony to Ottoman control without resistance. During this period, the damage inflicted on the tower's summit was halted following an edict issued by Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II concerning Pera. As part of restoration work led by Zağanos Pasha, the tower was raised again, and the cross at its summit was replaced with the Flag of the Ottoman Empire.
The earthquake of 1509 caused damage to the fortifications in Galata, including the Galata Tower. Repairs led by Mimar Hayreddin were completed in mid-1510, and the tower was raised again. Two brick bands on the tower's shaft, at heights of 13.20 m (the beginning of the second floor) and 17.17 m (the beginning of the third floor), are considered evidence of repairs made after this earthquake. Sources differ regarding the extent of these repairs.
In the 16th century, the Galata Tower and the other towers along the Walls of Galata were used as accommodation and a dungeon for Christian prisoners of war working at the shipyards in Kasımpaşa. In his 17th-century work Seyahatnâme, Evliya Çelebi wrote that the tower had formerly served as a dungeon and, in his time, as a supply warehouse for the shipyard. Taqi al-Din also carried out some work in the tower before the construction of his observatory. From the 18th century onward, the tower was used as a fire lookout tower by the Mehterhane corps and fire watchers.
Due to damage caused by a fire on 27 July 1794, the tower was shortened and its design altered. As part of the work, rooms projecting from each side of the uppermost floor, corridors, and a reception hall were added, and this section was converted into a coffeehouse. A large drum was installed to announce fires, while the attic was used as a dovecote. A fire on 2–3 August 1831 caused further damage. The upper section was repaired according to an earlier design, giving the tower its present-day appearance, apart from the roof that would collapse in the storm of 1875.
The tower's roof was repaired in either 1853 or 1854. During construction of the building to be used by the Sixth Municipal District, which was established in December 1857 to administer Galata and Pera, the courtyard surrounding the tower, the gates in the walls, and the sections of wall extending toward the shore began to be demolished under a decision adopted on 30 November 1863. The surrounding moats were also filled in. These works took place during the construction of the municipal building in 1864.
After the roof collapsed in a storm in 1875, a two-story timber structure with masonry elements was built above the top floor, with one room on each floor. The summit began to serve as a fire-reporting station for the fire brigade established in the city in 1874 and as a communications center for the Ottoman Navy.
Following the proclamation of the Republic in Turkey in 1923, the tower continued to be used by the fire brigade and the Turkish Naval Forces. The time ball at the British Naval Hospital, dismantled in February 1930 and installed atop the tower in March 1930, began operating in November 1934.
During the winter of 1959–1960, the wooden rooms in the upper section were evacuated after their beams rotted and collapsed. Following an initiative by Istanbul Mayor Haşim İşcan, it was decided to repair and restore the tower and convert it into a tourist facility. Yapıtaş won the tender for the work on 15 September 1964. The tower reopened at a ceremony on 28 September 1967.
As part of the work, the basement was arranged as a service floor. The ground floor became an entrance level, and two elevators running from this floor to the sixth floor were installed opposite the entrance axis. The first floor was arranged as an Oriental coffeehouse, the second as a museum about the tower's history, the third as a sales floor for tourist souvenirs, the fourth as a tavern named Ceneviz Meyhanesi, the fifth as a kitchen for the tower's food and beverage facilities, the sixth as a lobby with toilets and a cloakroom, and the eighth floor—the highest floor accessible to visitors—as a nightclub. Ünal Kardeşler, who built the restaurant section, also leased the tower's operating rights from the Istanbul Municipality for five years following a tender in February 1968. After the alterations, the tower officially opened as a tourist facility on 30 May 1969. The brothers' lease agreement with the Municipality was renewed annually after the initial five-year period.
Under a Council of Ministers decision published in the T.C. Resmî Gazete on 3 September 1989 and brought into force, an area called Galata Tower and Its Surroundings was designated a "tourism center," bringing the tower and its surroundings under the authority of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey.
At a meeting of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipal Council in October 1996, a decision was made to convert the tower into a museum and transfer its ownership to the Municipality's Directorate of Libraries and Museums. Pekerler İnşaat won the tender issued that year to restore the tower and convert it into a museum. A lawsuit filed that year to evict the Ünal Kardeşler company, which continued to operate the tower, was dismissed. In December 1997, however, an order was issued to halt the project because such a change could not be made without the Ministry of Culture's permission, and the proposed museum use was deemed unsuitable. Although the Municipality attempted to establish a library in the tower in 1998, the proposal was rejected by the Conservation Board for Immovable Cultural and Natural Assets.
Following an authorization decision issued by the Istanbul No. 1 Conservation Board for Cultural and Natural Assets on 7 May 1999, restoration of the exterior was completed by Peker İnşaat, which had won the 1996 tender, in June 2000. The tower reopened on 13 November 2000. Pekerler İnşaat also won the tender issued by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality in 2000 for the interior restoration. However, the Municipality's proposed interior restoration project, which envisaged converting the tower into a museum, was rejected by the Board because the Ministry of Culture, which was responsible for granting permission to establish a museum, had not issued the necessary authorization. Later that year, a new project featuring an exhibition hall, a souvenir shop, and a café was prepared and submitted to the Board. In February 2004, the Board approved a proposal to arrange the top two floors as a Turkish coffeehouse and the remaining floors for souvenir shops and other tourist facilities.
Under a Council of Ministers decision published in the T.C. Resmî Gazete on 28 March 2006, Galata Tower and Its Surroundings was designated a "renewal area." A further Council of Ministers decision published in the T.C. Resmî Gazete on 6 July 2006 stipulated that the Beyoğlu Municipality would expropriate the area as part of the renewal-area project. Although the area lay within parts of Beyoğlu designated an urban conservation area by a decision of the Istanbul No. 1 Conservation Board for Cultural and Natural Assets dated 7 July 1993, it was one of seven areas outside the planning area.
Legal efforts to evict the tower's operators, ongoing since 1996, came to an end after the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality declined to renew the lease with the Kardeşler family, who operated the tower. On 16 April 2013, operation of the tower was transferred to BELTUR, a company affiliated with the Municipality. Following renovations to the top two floors carried out by the Municipality, the eighth floor became a restaurant and the seventh a café.
At the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee, a decision adopted on 21 June 2013 included the Galata Tower among the architectural works in the series entitled "Trade Posts and Fortifications on Genoese Trade Routes from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea" on UNESCO's Tentative World Heritage List for Turkey.
In a letter dated 17 April 2019, the Directorate General of Foundations, invoking Article 30 of the Foundations Law, applied for ownership of the tower to be transferred to it on behalf of the Kule-i Zemin Foundation. As of 13 May 2019, ownership of the tower was transferred to the General Directorate of Foundations on behalf of the Kule-i Zemin Foundation, while the Municipality remained a tenant. Legal action initiated by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality against the transfer was unsuccessful, and the lease agreement issued to BELTUR expired on 31 December 2019.
On 18 January 2020, Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced that expropriation work would be carried out around the tower and a public square would be created as part of the tourism, culture, and arts project known as the "Beyoğlu Culture Route," which included the Galata Tower. In April 2020, the process of evicting the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality from the tower began. The Municipality's legal challenge was unsuccessful, and as of 16 May 2020, ownership of the tower passed to the Istanbul Regional Directorate of Foundations No. 1 on behalf of the Kule-i Zemin Foundation.
ES Yapı, which won the tender for the restoration work, began work on 30 June 2020. All elements and decorations added to the interior during the work of the 1960s and afterward were removed, and restoration and renovation work was carried out on both the interior and exterior. The tower was redesigned as an exhibition center and museum and reopened on 6 October 2020, the anniversary of the Liberation of Istanbul, under the name Galata Tower Museum.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Galata Tower”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.