Experts clean Çamlıca Tower’s facade in six hours

ISTANBUL – Demirören News Agency

Facade cleaning of Istanbul’s 369-meter-high Çamlıca Tower takes 6 hours, climbing technicians involved in the business have said.

“We are not only cleaning. We are also responsible for the maintenance of the tower’s facade,” said Kaan Kara, the leader of the professional mountaineers working for Çamlıca Tower, the highest structure in Europe.

These days, the climbing technicians are furnishing a type of ceramics on the glass facade of the tower.

“The glass of the tower gets dirty in 3 or 4 days normally. With this renovation, we will extend this duration to two months,” Kara added.

Hakan Oran, who is 47 years old, has been in the business for three and a half years.

When asked if he was not afraid to hang in the air for hours, Oran quickly said, “Fear keeps us alive. Fear in this business is indispensable.”

He also admitted that his family felt uneasy at the beginning of his career.

“But then, in time, they got used to it,” he added.

Çamlıca Tower is a telecommunications tower with observation decks and restaurants in the Üsküdar district of the metropolis. A 168-meter antenna sits atop the 49-storey structure, whose architectural design was inspired by the tulip flower.