Beyazıt Tower

Overview

From the Galata Bridge at night, look up at the hills of the old city. Between the domes of the great mosques, one slim white tower glows in a single color. Tonight it is blue, so tomorrow will be clear. This is Beyazıt Tower, the fire watchman of Ottoman Istanbul, which still talks to the city in light.

A Tower Against Fire

For centuries, fire was the great terror of Istanbul, because most houses in the old quarters were made of wood. So the city needed eyes on its hills. The first watchtower at Beyazıt went up in timber in 1749, but it burned in the Cibali fire of 1774.

Three wooden towers and one of stone

Its replacement fell in the riots of 1826, when Sultan Mahmud II abolished the Janissaries. Then a new wooden tower by the palace architect Krikor Balyan went up the same year, and again it was set on fire. In 1828, his brother Senekerim Balyan built the tower in stone, in the Ottoman Baroque style, and this one has stood ever since.

How Beyazıt Tower Spoke to the City

From the top, watchmen could see the whole old city, the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus shores and even the Princes’ Islands. When they spotted smoke, they signaled the district: by day with baskets lowered from the tower, and by night with colored lamps. Then, across the water, the İcadiye tower on the Asian side fired seven shots to warn the citizens. Until 1923, twenty firefighters were stationed here.

The weather in four colors

Today, the tower still sends signals, but now they forecast the weather. At night, red means snow, blue means clear skies, green means rain and yellow means fog. Besides, it still gives navigation signals to ships on the Golden Horn.

The Fire Brigade and the Tower’s Inscription

The city’s fire brigade, the Tulumbacı Ocağı, was founded in 1720. After a fire in 1749 burned the palace of the Janissary Ağa, a wooden watchtower went up beside the rebuilt palace, and the men who watched the city from it day and night were called köşklü. On the east face of the stone base, an inscription with a chronogram by Keçecizâde İzzet Molla, written by the calligrapher Yesârîzâde Mustafa İzzet Efendi, sits under the tughra of Mahmud II. Above, the floors are named for their tasks, watch, signal, basket and flag, and the watch floor stands about 50 m (164 ft) up.

Inside Beyazıt Tower

The tower rises about 85 meters (279 feet). At first, a single watch room with 13 round-arched windows crowned it. In 1849, builders added three octagonal floors on top, for signals, baskets and flags. Inside, a wooden staircase climbs to the top, but the tower is not open to regular visitors, so most of us admire it from below.

How to See Beyazıt Tower

The tower stands in the courtyard of Istanbul University on Beyazıt Square, the old Forum of Theodosius of Roman times. With a guide, join our Beyazıt tour. The tower stands in the grounds of Istanbul University.

Nearby sights

Then step next door to the Bayezid II Mosque, browse the old books of the Sahaflar Çarşısı, and dive into the Grand Bazaar. For its twin on the other shore, see the Galata Tower, and a short walk west, the Baroque Laleli Mosque.