Our apartment in Istanbul (nee Constantinople) is just around the corner from the Galata Tower...
The tower was built as Christea Turris (Christ's Tower) in 1348 during the expansion of the Genoese colony in Constantinople. It was part of the fortifications around the citadel of Galata. The two hundred foot tower was the city's tallest structure...back in the 14th century.
The conical cap has changed over the years, but otherwise but the tower mostly stands as it was built. During the Ottoman empire it was used as an observation tower for spotting fires. An urban legend says that in 1638, Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi flew from the tower with artificial wings over the Bosphorus.
For my part, the tower makes it easy to find our apartment, which is tucked away on the hill among the windy cobblestone streets. And even the most non-English speaking Turk can point out its direction when I ask in my bizarre half-Spanish half-English speech.
---o0o---
