The Galata Tower rises 66 meters above the neighborhood that shares its name on Istanbul's European shore, and has been the city's most distinctive viewpoint for nearly seven hundred years. Built in 1348 by the Genoese, who controlled the northern bank of the Golden Horn as their trading quarter, it originally served simultaneously as lighthouse, prison tower and watchtower. Today it is the place from which one can grasp all of Istanbul in a single glance. The Genoese were the most powerful traders of the medieval Mediterranean. Their quarter of Galata — a fortified city within a city — was a city-state in miniature, with its own laws, tax system and city walls. The tower, then called the Tower of Christ, stood at the center of this colony and was the most visible sign of its power. When the Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453, the Genoese in Galata remained neutral, and their quarter was left to them as an autonomous enclave. The tower survived the epochal change unharmed — and has survived every earthquake, every great fire, and every change of rule since. In the 16th century the Ottomans used the tower as a prison and observation post. Its most famous episode comes from 1633: Hezarfen Ahmed Çelebi, an Ottoman tinkerer and dreamer, is said to have launched himself from the tower on self-made wings and glided across the Bosphorus — a distance of several kilometers — landing safely on the Asian shore. Sultan Murad IV is said to have been so impressed that he first rewarded the inventor with a purse of gold — and then, fearing such boldness, had him banished to Algeria. The viewing platform at the top is the real goal of most visitors, and it surpasses all expectations. A full 360 degrees, with not a single skyscraper blocking the view: to the north, the Bosphorus bridges and the forests; to the east, the Golden Horn with the Galata Bridge and beyond it the Sultanahmet skyline with the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque; to the south, the Sea of Marmara with the Princes' Islands on the horizon; to the west, the hills of Beyoğlu with the Istiklal Avenue below. No city map in the world conveys this feeling as well as this view does. The neighborhood around the tower — today often called simply Galata or Karaköy — has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years. What was once a tradesman's quarter of locksmiths, hardware merchants and fishing tackle shops has become a creative district of specialty coffee bars, galleries, design boutiques and small concert venues — yet it has kept its authentic, slightly rough character. The cobblestone lanes leading up to Istiklal Avenue are alive at every hour of the day. Those who visit the Galata Tower in the evening see Istanbul at its most beautiful: the mosques on the far side of the Golden Horn glowing in warm amber light, ships moving silently through the Bosphorus twilight with their position lights, and from below the hum of the city rising like a quiet song. Book tickets online during the summer season to avoid waiting.