HISTORY OF PRECINCTS

Galata Bridge

This is the first and older of the two bridges spanning the Golden Horn, a natural channel seven kilometres long which begins at the entrance of the port and leads towards the interior of the city.

Galata Bridge is one of the most important points in the social, historical and economic life of the metropolis. It acts as a link between the two parts of the city, old Istanbul on one side, the ancient genoese district of Galata. Beyoglu on the other; in course of a day the entire city crosses the bridge in two directions.

Eighty or a hundred years ago this same bridge would have presented a human tide much more richly and variously coloured, the men with heads surmounted by fezzes or turbans, dressed in the brilliant costumes of the Orient, with glowing colours in which red and green predominated; the women in their ferajes and prasols of clear, light tints, strawyellow, rose, pale-green; light carriages known as "coupees" with gilt ornament and hangings of violet-coloured velvet, coachmen in liveries embroidered in silver or gold, and richly decked horses; the colourful crowds of civilians, soldiers, variously attired priests, freelance firemen, the packs of dogs so familiar to the place, the exotic multitudes of visitors, and the different animals of burden and transport were a source of wonder to the foreigner with an opportunity of admiring this incomparable picture.

The date of the first bridge over the Golden Horn is a controversial issue. It is thought that there was some connation of the two banks further in the interior during Byzantine times. Also it is noteworthy that Leonardo da Vinci in 1502 and Michael Angelo two or three years later were invited by the Ottomans to build a bridge here. During the conquest the two shores were linked by a line of ships roped together. In 1845 a wooden bridge was built where the present Galata Bridge stands by order of Bezmi Alem Sultana, the mother of Sultan Abdulmecid I. Finally, in 1912, the present bridge was brought here.

If you look towards the bridge as you come from Beyoglu, you see on your left the banks of Karakoy, the ancient Galata. In the Byzantine period this was a Genoese, colony. During the siege of Constantinople by Mehmet II the Conqueror, in 1453, a chain was extended from the tip of the Seraglio on the right to a position to the left along this bank at a point not now precisely known, with the intention of barring the passage of the Turkish fleet.

The first building that you see to the left is the Turkish Maritime Bank, the second the Passenger Customs House, behind the Customs building, near car park, is an ancient mosque, in the courtyard of which there still exists an old Byzantine wall to which was probably attached the chain we have been speaking of.

Looking across from the bridge you will have your first sight of the Asian countryside. Üsküdar district partly concealed by vegetation, lives on silently. Villages as picturesque as they are verdant, follow on from it right tip to the entry to the Black Sea.

To the right of Uskudar is the Central Station of the Anatolian Railway, linking the shores of the Bosphorus with Asia, constructed by the Germans and furnished with a typical row of turrets. It is preceded by other buildings of note; first a hospital, then a school, end thirdly and most important the Selimiye Barracks, built by Selim III.

Opposite, at a distance of 180 metres, full in the Sea of Marmara, raises a small islet, the “KIZ KULESI” (Tower of the Virgin). Legend has it that a Sultan confined his daughter there to save her from an unhappy fate - it had been predicted that she would die of a snake bite, inspite of his precautions a small reptile nestling in a basket of grapes fulfilled the prediction.

The Western name of “Leander Tower” recalls the legend of this person's death by drowning while he was striving to swim across to rejoin Hero. According to tradition, however, this took place in the Dardenelles, not the Bosphorus.

For a long time the Byzantines and then the Ottomans made use of this Customs Office. Manuel Comnenus built a strong castle on this island. The space between the island and the tower was surrounded by a fortified wall of which the underwater foundations can still be seen. Towards 1545 the fort was rebuilt in stone by the Turks end provided with cannons.

The tower, which was originally of wood, burned down in 1721 and was rebuilt with masonry in 1763. Now a lighthouse has been installed there and the tower is one of the distinctive landmarks of the city.

On the right, viewed from the bridge, deeply set in greenery, you can see the Palace of the Sultans, including the TOPKAPI Seraglio, which stretches along the peninsula of the same name, with its domes, its turrets and its pendent buildings. Beyond is the imposing Saint Sophia dominating the scene by its great size and beauty.

Looking from the bridge towards the Golden Horn, can make out on the horizon the majestic silhouette of the beautiful Suleyman Mosque with the Tower of Beyazit close by, lower down but still on an eminence the Mosque of Selim I, conqueror of Egypt, and a little beyond this the Mosque of Mehmet II Fatih, the conqueror of the city.