This evening Randal and I picniced in our room on dark crusty bread, goat cheese, green and black olives drenched in lemon juice and it was wonderful.  Then Randal went out and got us a decadent strawberry cream thing to split but we washed it down with diet coke so it’s ok.  One could gain thousands of pounds here and soon they won’t be asking me if I’m French!

Here’s the story of our visit to the Pera Palace Hotel and the Galata Tower.

Pera Palace Hotel and the Galata Tower

The Pera Palace Hotel was built in 1892 to provide accommodations for passengers on the Orient Express.

The Pera Palace “back in the day.”

Mustafa Kemel Ataturk, the first President of Turkey had a suite now set aside as a small museum: Room 101. http://www.perapalace.com/en-EN/ataturks-museum-room/66.aspx Agatha Christie stayed in room 441 while writing Murder on the Orient Express. http://www.perapalace.com/en-EN/agatha-christie-room/65.aspx will take you to the Pera Palace Hotel’s website which tells about Christie’s stays at the hotel.  Unfortunately the room was occupied so we couldn’t see it.  But Linda and I did make use of the “ladies.”

Terrycloth towels rather than hot air or paper which is especially impressive after Southeast Asia and India where there is “no nothing” in the “ladies” but 3 walls, a door, and some kind of plumbing.  Definitely a far cry from the AKDENIZ Hotel or the Alican where Linda and Michael have been staying.

The Sedan chair was displayed in the lobby.

From the Pera Palace we walked to the Galata Tower.

I couldn’t get back far enough to capture the entire tower.

“Although it is not completely certain as to when the Galata Tower was built, it is claimed that the it was built during the reign of the Byzantian Emperor, Iustinianos in 507 CE.  (That tower was built of wood.)

It was called the Christea Turris (Tower of Christ) by the Genoese and the Megalos Pyrgos (The Great Tower) by the Byzantines. It took its present shape during the Genoese period. The Tower was heavily damaged during an earthquake in 1509, and it was renewed by the architect, Hayrettin, who was very famous during that period. During the reign of Süleiman the Magnificent (1520-66), it was used as a jail for prisoners who were sentenced to work at the Kasımpaşa Naval Dockyard. The head astrologer, Takıyeddin Efendi, established an observatory on the top of the tower at the end of the 16th century and functioned as an observatory for a particular period of time. Later, it was closed and again turned into a prison by Sultan Murat III (1546-1595).

In 1638, Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi flew as an early aviator using artificial wings from this tower across the Bosphorus to the slopes of Üsküdar on the Anatolian side during the reign of Murad V. Towards the 17th century, it was used by the Mehter Band, the janissary band of musicians. After 1717, it was used as a fire-observatory tower, but the tower itself was unfortunately destroyed in a fire in 1794.

After it was repaired, a cumba, a little room made of wood, was added to the tower during the reign of Sultan Selim III (1761-1808). After another fire in 1831, Sultan Mahmut added two more floors to the Tower and covered the top of the tower with a famous cloth in the shape of a conical hat.  An inscription written by Pertev Paşa concerning the tower’s repair works was affixed during that time. After a strong storm in 1875,  the framework of the roof was damaged and was late repaired in 1960. Today, the Galata Tower operates solely as a touristic attraction by a private company. The elevator only goes to the 7th floor, and the last two floors of the tower must be climbed by stairs.

After passing though the restaurant on the top floor, there is a balcony that encircles the tower. The restaurant’s view showcases a scene of Istanbul and the Bosphorus.

Dimensions

The height of the tower is 66.90 meters (62.59 meters non-including the ornament on top), the outer diameter is 16.45 meters, the inner diameter is 8.95 meters, and the thickness of the wall is 3.75 meters. http://www.ibb.gov.tr/sites/ks/en-US/1-Places-To-Go/towers/Pages/galata-tower.aspx

The Galata Tower’s website is   http://www.galatatower.net/english/

Linda and I paid the fee, waited for the elevator that takes you part way and then climbed the stairs to the outside walkway around the top of the tower.  It was cold and crowded but the view of the “Golden Horn” was wonderful.  Randal and Michael sat in the street café next door and had coffee.

Looking down!

The Galata Bridge spans the mouth of the Golden Horn and is said to divide the European side of Istanbul though I’m not absolutely sure what that means.

The Golden Horn.  Buildings are all jam packed together.

Overlooking the Bosphorus

Today was our last day in Istanbul.  It’s a great place to visit and one could spend lots of time here.  But tomorrow we’re off early to catch the ferry and then train south to Izmir.  Linda, Michael, Randal and me.  The ferry leaves at 7 am and takes 2 hours.  Then we’ll board the train and be in Izmir around 3pm.  We are staying at the Alican Hotel.  I still need to write more about Istanbul and maybe will get some written on the train.  I certainly learn more as I write.

Ru