Photo Essay: Istanbul from the Galata Tower

The Galata Tower in Istanbul, at about 66 meters served a great purpose for hundreds of years. It was known as the Christea Turris (Tower of Christ) when it was built in 1348 when Istanbul was Constantinople. The Ottomans used it as an observation post for spotting fires. For me, and I suspect for many others, it was my compass. Regardless of where I walked to in Istanbul, I used it to find my bearings until I finally decided on my way to see the famous Rainbow steps of Istanbul to go up the tower. 

A half hour queue and my pockets 25 Turkish Lira lighter later, I was almost a 100 meters above sea level staring at Istanbul in its splendour. I could just about make out my base, Sultanahmet as the Blue mosque and Ayasofya were clearly visible. I had spent some time photographing the tower at night from the Galata bridge and was aware of its striking pose in the Istanbul sky line. Its glowing lights glimmered from as far as Sultanahmet, across the Golden Horn and Galata bridge.  The majestic pose was just as striking on a cruise on the Bosphorous traveling from the European side of Istanbul to the Asia side towards the latter end of my stay in Istanbul.