Istanbul Close up Skyline in Turkey (Panoramic view from Galata Tower / Kulesi)

The Galata Tower (Galata Kulesi) is one of the city's most striking landmarks that dominates the skyline and offers a panoramic view of Istanbul's historic peninsula and its environs. The Galata Tower, called Christea Turris (the Tower of Christ in Latin) by the Genoese, is a medieval stone tower in the Galata/Karaköy quarter of Istanbul, Turkey, just to the north of the Golden Horn's junction with the Bosphorus.

Watery Istanbul is a city that cries out to be viewed from on high, and you can get a bird's-eye view of everything from the balcony at the top of the Galata Tower in Beyoğlu, the modern part of old Istanbul that, in pre-Republican days, was home to the city's foreign residents. Built in 1348, the tower once formed part of a sub-city belonging to the Genoese that stretched right down to the Bosphorus. In a footnote to aviation history, it was from this tower that Hezârfen Ahmed Çelebi flew across the Bosphorus from Europe to Asia in 1638, thus inaugurating the first ever intercontinental flight.

The tower provides a panoramic view on Aya Sofya (Hagia Sophia), Topkapi Palace, Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque, Golden Horn and Galata Bridge.

Galata Tower (Galata Kulesi)
Open: daily from 09.00 – 20.00
Closed: no closing days
Price: admission TL 19,-

Istanbul Close up Skyline in Turkey (Panoramic view from Galata Tower / Kulesi)

HD Shot in 2014 with an iPhone 5