Restoration works at Istanbul’s landmark suspended due to birds

ISTANBUL

Restoration works at Istanbul’s iconic Galata Tower have been suspended for a while due to birds nesting inside the tower.

“We could not remain insensitive to the swifts during the renovation work carried out in Galata Tower. We are taking a break from the external maintenance of the tower until the time the birds settle comes,” Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said.

“There will also be a special section for the birds of Galata in the museum,” he added.

The restoration works had started in the 672-year-old landmark building, which was handed over to the General Directorate of Foundations, while it was being operated by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

The construction works were threatening the birds that had nests at the top of the tower and were in their breeding season.

Restoration is expected to resume after the swifts migrate to the south at the end of September.

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 in Beyoğlu directly opposite ancient Constantinople.

Just some hundred meters below the tower, a megaproject, known as Galataport, is expected to boost the city’s tourism and increase tourism revenues.

The project is being developed in Istanbul’s Karaköy neighborhood along the 1,200-meter coastline.