Beyazıt Tower, Istanbul

The Beyazıt Tower is an old fire watch tower built in 1828 by Aga Huseyin Pasa. Made of stone, it succeeds on this site two wooden fire towers that were subsequently, and ironically so, all swallowed up by flames. In the olden days, fires all across the Bosphorus Strait, from the Golden Horn all the way to Yesilkoy, could be well spotted from this vantage point in the garden of Istanbul University. At 85 meter high, the structure dominates the cityscape, and is still in use as a fire tower even today, for which purpose it is manned 24 hours a day.

The tower is open to visitors, but a special permit is necessary. Nowadays, it is also used by the local meteorological service to report weather, since visibility has been greatly reduced due to air pollution. Colored lights fitted onto the tower are used to indicate weather conditions (e.g. red color indicates “rain”) as well as to guide ships sailing into the Golden Horn when the Ataturk and Galata bridges are closed off.

Image Courtesy of Wikimedia and Gryffindor.

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Sight Name: Beyazıt Tower
Sight Location: Istanbul, Turkey (See walking tours in Istanbul)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark

Walking Tours in Istanbul, Turkey

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