Istanbul’s landmark tower to be revamped: Minister
ISTANBUL
Restaurants and offices inside the Galata Tower will be evacuated and the historical tower will be turned into a museum, Turkey’s culture and tourism minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced on June 8.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Tarık Zafer Tunaya Cultural Center, the restoration of which was completed within the scope of the Beyoğlu Culture Road project in Istanbul, Ersoy said that the renovation work (of the tower) will begin shortly.
The Beyoğlu Culture Road is a project which covers an area from Galataport to the Taksim Square and connects the cultural venues of Beyoğlu district, including historical Atlas Passage, the Atatürk Cultural Center and the Galata Tower.
In May, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture took over the authority to operate the Galata Tower, a 672-year-old landmark building of the city, from the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
Noting that the project was completed this week and the tender for renovation work will take place in the end of June, Ersoy stressed that the tower will be put into service on Sep. 15.
“Some features of the Galata Tower are also changing. There are cafeterias, restaurants, kitchens and offices in it. We take out all the activity areas which are incompatible with the essence of the Galata Tower,” Ersoy said.
Pointing out that the new charm of the Galata Tower will attract tourists from Galataport, Ersoy said that the surrounding of the tower will also become a “cultural square”.
Galataport, a megaproject expected to boost the city’s tourism and increase tourism revenues is a new cruise ship port, which is being developed in Istanbul’s Karaköy district along 1,200 meters of coastline.
The minister also said they would make the necessary expropriations and add the old feature to the Genoese square.
Galata Tower, one of the highest and oldest towers of Istanbul, was built in the 14th century by the Genoese colony as part of the defense wall surrounding their district at Beyoğlu directly opposite ancient Constantinople.
