Galata Tower

Istanbul · Turkiet · Tower

The Genoese ate the gull that guided them through the dark and raised the tower on its nest — then a man flew from it across the strait.

Two legends cling to the Galata Tower. The older one tells of a white gull that guided Genoese sailors through the darkness to land, and which they then followed all the way to its nest, killed and ate. The tower was raised on that spot, a kind of penance for what they had done. The younger legend is Evliya Çelebi's account of Hezarfen Ahmed Çelebi, who in 1632 strapped on wings of wooden slats, threw himself from the tower's crown and let the north wind carry him clean across the Bosphorus to Üsküdar. A third version has the tower — hopelessly in love with the Maiden's Tower across the strait — whispering its letters to Hezarfen before he launched, so he could deliver them on the way. Hezarfen was rewarded with a purse of gold and then exiled to Algiers: nobody wanted a man who could go anywhere.

FAQ

Where is Galata Tower located?

Galata Tower is in Istanbul, Turkiet.

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