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This tower at the slopes of Galata is visible everywhere in the city, and is 61 m. tall. The unique panorama of tower is one of the most important reasons why it attracts the visitors. The tower is at the hill which overlooks both to the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara. It is possible to ascend to the viewing terrace which is on the top floor of the tower, by 143 step stairs or by lift.
It is known that there had been a tower in this region since the 5th century BC.
But, the present tower was built between 1348-1349. The Genoese built this tower as part of the defense walls in the region which they conquered from the
Byzantine, and named it as 'the Tower of Jesus'. The inner diameter of the tower, which has an altitude of hundred and forty meters, is nine meters. In the Ottoman era, the tower was used as a prison,
warehouse, lighthouse and fire observing tower. It was restored
between 1964-1967 and a new balcony was placed on it. The tower
was the scene to one of the most astonishing events of the
Ottoman period. An scientist named Hazerfen Ahmet Celebi jumped
down the tower and flew to the opposite side of the Bosphorus
strait by using the wings which he had invented (17th century).
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