Galata Bridge: Merging the old and the new with an ambient entertainment complex

The Bridge and Restaurant Plaza (Wikimedia picture)

A bridge is not what you look to for fun, entertainment gourmet food and break taking view, but Galata Bridge is all that and more.

It is the famous bridge that spans the Golden horn, which is an inlet of the Bosphorus river that spans the older traditional portion of Istanbul south of the river at Eminonu to its more modern portion Karakoy, which Galata is a subsection of, north of the river.

Over the centuries there have been several bridges built and rebuilt across the Golden Horn but not until the current bridge, others have had interesting histories from their inception to their demise.

Fishing from the bridge

What was considered the first Galata Bridge was built in 1845 and lasted for 18 years. At the time it was considered a new bridge as an older bridge existed further up the river. The first recorded bridge was during the reign of Justiniian back in the 6^th century. A  second bridge was later built prior to Napoleon III’s visit to Istanbul in 1863 as an overall infrastructural overhaul but by 1875 yet another bridge, the first by a foreign firm was built.

It was not until 1912 that a German firm was hired to build yet another bridge that was expected to last for much longer term until it got damaged in a fire in 1992, which was eventually replaced by the current bascule type bridge that is both a utilitarian work of art and a functional passage way for vehicle, tram and ship traffic. It was completed in 1994 and the lower plaza portion was opened to the public in 2003.

Galata Bridge Fish Market

It is iconic that while crossing the bridge, a look to the west gives you vistas of Europe while looking east you behold Asia across from the Bosphorus straits. A swimmer with a good pair of lungs could swim across from Europe to Asia in about 30 minutes or less.

The top surface of the bridge apart from the busy vehicles and tram constantly passing by is a behive of activities both as a lookout spot and sunset watching but also a fly fishing post for so many of Istanbul residents. The lower deck of the entire length of the bridge is a plaza of sorts, lined with several restaurants, bars and shopping stalls. The only break in the length is the middle portion where ships and boat pass through to navigate out to the Bosphorous straits and head north to the Black Sea or south to the Sea of Marmara and unto the Mediterranean Sea.

My restaurant waiter on the bridge plaza

The restaurants all have outdoor patios where most guests are seated eating and watching the ebb and flow of the water that is barely inches below them. Gazing at the big round yellow orange tinged setting sun that looks so close while dining on fine Turkish cuisine and a beverage of assorted beer was always both romantic and eerie. Just think of the feeling of being sandwiched between a train above and a ship below and totally surrounded by water as you chow down on some kind of lamb stew.

Dusk by the bridge behind me

For some reason most of my interaction with local people was on that bridge. Folks invited me to practice reeling in fish from their fishing rod while others just wanted to take pictures with me. As a tourist magnet, the waiters in the gazillion restaurants aggressively yet politely lured customers to taste their special food and different international or local beers, while some later at night wanted to the best spinning Disc jockeys in Turkey who happen to be in their clubs. Street and food vendors constantly ply their wares on the bridge that you could have a full day shopping for a variety of stuff just handing around the bridge.

The atmosphere was so positive and the place being so pedestrian friendly, I must have crossed that bridge more than ten times. At the foot of the Galata end of the bridge was a sprawling fish market where fresh harvests come in virtually hourly. Aside from the fish mongers or merchants, many roadside fish restaurants and working class cafes dot the crowded area to enjoy fresh fish meals and beer, before you ascend towards the Galata Towers.

Galata Tower: A Panoramic Vista of the Bosphorus and the Ancient City of Istanbul

Towering in the skyline in this wikimedia picture

Strolling around the old part of Istanbul, a landmark that is hard to miss was an ancient tower that solidly carves out a space in the skyline among crowded buildings. The cylindrical towering structure is the famed Galata Tower.

Standing at the base

Prior to Istanbul being one definable monolithic city, it was composed of various districts including some that basically autonomous all occupying the same general space. A city wall surrounded the Genoese Colony of Galata with the tower erected at the highest strategic point overlooking the old city of Constantinople. The tower was also used for surveillance purposes over the harbor as the Genoese colony was engaged in commercial activities that span beyond their immediate vicinity. While the city walls are gone the tower, which was originally named Christea Turris in Latin (Tower of Christ) and Galata Kulesi (in Turkish), remains sturdy and in use today for panoramic view of the city as well as a venue for restaurant and night club in its upper floors.

The marker on the base wall

It is believed that the tower was first built by a Byzantine emperor in 507 AD and then rebuilt in its present stone form in 1348 by the Genoese colony for strategic defensive reasons as homage to the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus, who granted the Genoese permission to settle there. Over centuries and over the years the tower had been scarred by fires but always eventually repaired. The last repair/restoration work was in 1967 after which it was opened to the public.

Blends into the modern street

The tower stands 9 stories high at 219 feet with 12 feet thick walls. The tower had served over the years as surveillance fort, dormitory, dungeon, jail, and jump off platform for amateur aviators and then a fire monitoring post for the city of Istanbul. Now it is more a tourist fixture with restaurant and nightclub and the obligatory gift shop.  The base is transformed into a plaza that attracts the artsy folks, along with tourists enjoying nice café atmosphere in the surrounding shops and restaurants while magicians, musicians and other entertainment types work their art.

Up close

Standing at the base and leaning or hugging portions of the tower gives an awesome sense of connection to folks that lived around the area in the 13^th and 14^th century yet reminding yourself of how transient we all are knowing that soon after the current generation all pass away, a new generation will be standing at the same base and wondering about those who lived before and spent time there before their time.