Galata Tower
In 1638, a man strapped on wings and jumped from this roof — and supposedly glided to the other continent.
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Genoese colonists raised this 219-foot tower in 1348 as the "Christea Turris," making it the tallest building in Constantinople. After the Ottoman conquest it became a prison, then a fire-watch post, then a museum. The rooftop still faces the Asian shore of Üsküdar — exactly where Hezarfen Ahmed Çelebi reportedly landed after history's first intercontinental flight, a tale the Ottoman travel writer Evliya Çelebi cheerfully recorded despite its doubtful truth.
What to look for
- The conical roof — stripped off in the 19th century and only rebuilt during a 1965–1967 concrete restoration
- Surviving stretches of the original Genoese walls at street level below the tower
- The Üsküdar waterfront across the Bosphorus, the supposed landing zone of Çelebi's 1638 glide
Enter as the Galata Tower Museum (Galata Kulesi Müzesi) in the Beyoğlu district; the tower sits at the highest point of the old Genoese quarter.
Galata Tower is one of 39 sights worth the detour in Istanbul, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Istanbul pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Istanbul
- Hagia SophiaCompleted in 537, it held the title of world's largest church for over 500 years — then a mosque, a museum, and a mosque again.
- Constantinople (Istanbul)One peninsula that served as the throne of four empires for sixteen centuries straight.
- Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque)Ahmed I placed it directly opposite Hagia Sophia in 1609 and gave it six minarets — a deliberate challenge to the city's greatest building.
- Topkapı PalaceFor nearly four centuries, the sultans who ruled the Ottoman Empire lived and governed from here — until the court finally moved to Dolmabahçe in 1856.
- ByzantiumGreeks from Megara planted a colony here in the 7th century BC — and the name they gave it eventually became the word for an entire empire.
- Rams Park (Ali Sami Yen Sports Complex)Galatasaray's 53,978-seat fortress on the European side of Istanbul — and the second most eco-friendly stadium on the planet.