Did a man really fly from Galata Tower to Asia in the 1630s? One book says so. Only one.
The tower is Genoese: Genoa's colony in Galata finished it in 1348 as part of its walls.
Its name is less settled than guidebooks say. "Tower of Christ", Christea Turris, is the traditional name, but a 2020 study by Hasan Sercan Sağlam of Koç University argues for Tower of the Holy Cross, Turris Sancte Crucis.
After 1453 Mehmed II halted its demolition. It later held prisoners of war, stored goods and watched for fires.
Now the flight. Legend says that around 1630–32 Hezarfen Ahmed Çelebi, in eagle-style wings tested at Okmeydanı, launched from the top and glided to Doğancılar Square in Üsküdar, while Sultan Murad IV watched from Sarayburnu.
All of it comes from one source: Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatname. No other record of Ahmed Çelebi is known.
Evliya gives it an ending: a purse of gold, then exile to Algeria, where he died.
Could it have happened? The distance is given as about 3,200 metres, or 3,358 by another account. One encyclopedia argues flapping wings could not do it; only a simple glider riding air currents is plausible.
One thing the postcards leave out: the cone on top isn't original. A storm brought the roof down in 1875; the tower reopened after a 1960s restoration on 28 September 1967.
Go up to the eighth-floor terrace and look across to Üsküdar, where the legend lands him. The official site lists 08:30–23:00, no closed day, but that page dates from 2024. When it reopened after roof repairs in May 2024, entry was capped at 100 people an hour, so book the official e-ticket. Terrace access wasn't confirmed when we checked.
