Galata Tower

The Galata Tower is one of the highest and oldest towers of Istanbul. It is located on a high hill and rises an additional 206 feet to provide a panoramic view of the city. It was built in the 14th century and was used for the surveillance of the Harbor in the Golden Horn (a horn-shaped fjord on the European side of Istanbul). After the conquest of Constantinople by Mehmet II, it served to detect fires in the city. Galata Tower was restored and opened to the public in 1967. The tower houses a cafeteria on top and a 360° viewing balcony.

The Galata Tower was our first item on the agenda for the day. We took our time wandering through the old city, walking along the train track route. The trains are people movers. They go all through the city and have stops every few blocks, not unlike many other

large cities. These are particularly interesting because they run down streets shared with automobiles. A train will travel in one lane and a car in the next lane going the same direction, with no barrier between them, just like a two normal vehicles driving beside each other on a two lane road. Also, some of these train roads have no rails, or curbs, or anything else to keep the pedestrian from being in the line of the train. In some areas the sidewalk is so narrow that when train passes you could literally just hold out your hand and run it along the side of the train as it whooshed by.

While dodging trains we spotted a baklava shop. Who doesn’t love baklava with its yummy honey and nuts on thin multi-layered pastry? Here in Turkey there are entire shops full of different kinds of baklava. They make it in all different sizes, shapes, and flavors and use different ingredients including many different kinds of nuts and toppings. Similarly, this shop also had Turkish Delights of every different color, fruit, nut or flavor. We went in and talked to one of the bakers. He was interesting and delightful and informative. We all picked out several different kinds and sat at a table eating them while sipping some hot Turkish tea. This day was off to a good start.

We made our way down to the river front and looked at the different boat rides touring the Bosphorus River. Bosphorus is a natural strait, 20 miles in length, connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, thus being a very strategic waterway. The Bosphorus strait separates the European part from the Asian part of Istanbul. After checking out the different options and times for the boat tours we walked over the large bridge to a more modern and lively part of Istanbul.

Although this side of the bridge was more modern, it still felt like a movie set. The quaint, narrow cobblestone streets lined with vendors and colorful shops were very reminiscent of streets in Paris or Barcelona. The Galata Tower was erected on a high hill, already

giving it a height advantage as a lookout. The tower incidentally can be seen from all over Istanbul. We saw it many times as we walked throughout the city. The hill was a challenge to climb. The streets were narrow and winding and steep, and all full of people, vendors and vehicles. Cars would come whooshing up or down a steep hill, weave back and forth between scattering pedestrians and other vehicles and spin into a cross street with ease. It felt like we were in a video game. But with only one life to lose it was a bit tense.

Once we reached the top of the hill we got in line for the tower. It

was a simple but impressive structure and stood in the middle of the street like a monolith, demanding the attention of all passerby’s.  It took about 45 minutes to enter the tower. We paid the fee and took an elevator to the top. There was a restaurant taking up both the top two floors. It was enclosed by glass windows, and all around the outside was a little stone walkway that completely circled the tower. We made the rounds and took our pictures. Most of the city of Istanbul could be seen from up there. On the way down we stopped to watch a short 3D movie featuring many of the star attractions of the city, most of which we had already visited.

After the tower tour we had a bite to eat in a restaurant. Their lunch specials were the equivalent of $2.50 and included a sandwich, vegetables and a drink. We then walked back across the bridge and arrived at the dock just as the boat we were planning to take for a tour was pulling away from the dock. They took our money anyways and sent us out to the loading ramp. The boat had been docked with its left side against the dock and had pulled away. The boat then started turning around and as soon as the front of the vessel touched the dock we were given the word to jump on board. We did and the boat never stopped. We found some seats on the top deck and proceeded up the Bosphorus River.

The river cruise took about 90 minutes for only the equivalent of $5 each. There were maybe a couple hundred tourists on board in a variety of nationalities. The boat cruised up the west European side of the river and then changed over and came back down the river against the Asian side. Along the way an announcer was pointing out interesting sites.

The cruise concluded just as the sun was setting, creating some dramatic silhouette views of the city. We docked in a different port and it must have been at river rush hour. That dock was swarming with people and vendors and shops and boats. We slowly maneuvered our way through the people and entered an underground walkway. This path went underneath the busy street above and emptied away from the street traffic and back in the old city side. Now to find the Hamam.