The first fire pump in Istanbul was built in the 18th century, but the most effective tool in the fight against the city’s devastating blazes was the Beyazıt Fire Tower, constructed in 1828. The tower is no longer used for fire watching, but residents can turn to it to learn the next day’s weather thanks to a forecast system using colored lights
 Thanks to a project to re-illuminate the top of the Beyazıt Tower, the people of Istanbul can learn how the weather will be the next day. Red is snow, yellow is fog, green is rain and blue is clear skies. |
A nostalgic piece of Istanbul’s history is back now that the city’s Beyazıt Fire Tower has once again been converted into a meteorological forecasting center.
Bringing back a system that was last employed during the 1960s and 1970s, residents of Istanbul can now look to the tower, which is located on Istanbul University’s campus in Fatih, to learn the next day’s weather: red, means snow; yellow means fog; blue means clear skies; and green means rain.
For the forecast, the first letter in the name of the color in Turkish corresponds to the fırst letter of the expected weather pattern; as such kırmızı (red) = kar (snow); sarı (yellow) = sis (fog); yeşil (green) = yağmur (rain); and mavi (blue) = an obscure Ottoman word meaning clear skies.
Beyazıt Fire Tower has a special place among the dozens of symbols that represent Istanbul; for centuries it served as an observation post for firefighters under the Ottomans and into the modern era. With the city’s growth and advancing technology, firefighter eventually left the tower, allowing it to serve its meteorological function, which continued until 1995. The tower was then restored starting in 1997.
This year, under the direction of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s City Lighting and Energy Directorate, Siemens A.Ş. and Osram A.Ş. undertook a project to re-illuminate the top of the tower so that the people of Istanbul could learn what the weather will be.
Although it is used for weather forecasting and provides maritime navigation information on the Golden Horn at night, it has otherwise largely lost it importance, although teams of two firefighters remain stationed at the tower in three shifts for guard purposes.
History of the tower
Following the conquest of Istanbul in 1453, there was a need for new buildings to house the many people attached to the Ottoman court and those who either came to the city of their own accord seeking a better life or were settled in the city by Sultan Fatih Mehmed. This need led to many of the buildings being quickly constructed of wood, which was not as expensive as stone or marble.
Istanbul is a city that is subject to strong winds at times from the northeast and southwest in particular and any fires that started in the city of wooden structures would quickly be fanned into a conflagration by these winds. Fires were fought by the people who lived in the neighborhood, with buckets that they used to scoop up water from fountains, wells and nearby cisterns. The first fire pump in Istanbul was built in the second quarter of the 18th century during the time of the Lale Devri (Tulip Era) by a French convert at the Ottoman court. And Grand Vizier İbrahim Paşa, who was so much a part of the multitude of lavish entertainments staged during this short period (1718-1730), took the time to set up a group of firefighters attached to the Janissaries and equipped them with new pumps.
A tower was finally built as part of the Beyazıt Mosque complex in 1749. But since it was made of wood, it was destroyed in the Cibali fire of 1755. Its replacement, also of wood, was burned down in the riots that took place after Sultan Mahmud II abolished the Janissary corps in 1826. He then appointed the firefighters, who were local tradesmen, to be part of his “New Army.” Palace architect Krikor Balyan rebuilt the tower, but again in wood, and again it was burned down that same year by supporters of the Janissaries. The tower that stands today was built in the baroque style by Senekerim Balyan in 1828.
Balyan’s tower contained just one floor for fire watching; the wooden staircase had 180 steps. Later, three more floors were added to improve signaling. The tower was partly damaged by the earthquake of 1889 and was subsequently restored. At present, the tower has a stone roof and a wooden staircase of 256 steps.
The fire tower at Beyazıt was not the only place from which fire-spotting occurred. Galata Tower and the İcadiye Fire Tower (Vaniköy) were used. The İcadiye Tower in particular was useful for spotting fires on the Anatolian side and the northern part of the Bosphorus.
In order to alert people to fires, during the day baskets were lowered and at night colored lamps were lit. The location of the fire was indicated by the number of baskets and at night by the number and color of the lamps. The İcadiye Tower would fire seven volleys so that people would know that a fire had broken out and they could see from the baskets and lights where. Galata Tower too would hoist a colored lamp or basket when a fire broke out. The Beyazıt Tower was continually used to watch for fires and 20 firemen were stationed there until 1923. Later on it was allowed to decline until even the wooden staircase that led up to the top of the tower became too dangerous to climb.
Edmondo de Amicis, the Italian novelist, journalist, poet and short-story writer, visited Istanbul just four years after the fire that destroyed so much of Beyoğlu in 1870. In his book, “Constantinople,” he writes that he was staying in a hotel in that area when there was a great outcry and people began running in the middle of the night. When he woke up, he was told to look at Galata Tower, where a red light had been placed to alert the general populace that there was a fire.
“As we leaned over the bridge, gazing on the scene before us, the fire completely forgotten, we heard all at once, from across the water, a faint uncertain noise, as of persons calling aloud for help; then, as it drew nearer, shrill cries of ‘Allah! Allah! Allah!’ echoing throughout the great empty space around us, and in a moment we beheld a noisy, evil-looking throng pouring towards us across the bridge.
“‘Tulumbadgi’ [firemen], cried one of the bridge guards, and we drew to one side and watched them as they rushed by, a horde of swarthy, half-naked savages with bare hands and hairy chests, streaming with perspiration, young and old, with faces of thieves and cutthroats, four of them bearing a small pump that looked like a child’s bier on their shoulders, while the others were armed with long beaked poles, coils of rope, axes and picks. On they rushed, uttering hoarse cries, panting for breath, with eyes dilated, streaming hair, grim, determined, their rags fluttering in the wind and poisoning the sweet morning air with the close malodorous smell of wild beasts. Sweeping across the bridge, they finally disappeared in the Rue de Galata, whence fainter and fainter came the cry ‘Allah! Allah!’ till at length profound silence reigned once more.”
He also said he hoped the university’s campus would be open to tourists so that visitors can see the two kiosks that remain from the old palace built by Fatih Sultan Mehmed in 1458, as well as two monuments, one to German faculty members who found refuge in Turkey after fleeing from the Nazis and the other to Turkish Republican founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the youth.
Plans also call for people dressed as “tulumbacı,” or firefighters, to recreate historical firefighting methods from the first sounding of the warning to the end. There will also be tours available of the campus grounds during the week, Yolcu said.
Bringing back a system that was last employed during the 1960s and 1970s, residents of Istanbul can now look to the tower, which is located on Istanbul University’s campus in Fatih, to learn the next day’s weather: red, means snow; yellow means fog; blue means clear skies; and green means rain.
For the forecast, the first letter in the name of the color in Turkish corresponds to the fırst letter of the expected weather pattern; as such kırmızı (red) = kar (snow); sarı (yellow) = sis (fog); yeşil (green) = yağmur (rain); and mavi (blue) = an obscure Ottoman word meaning clear skies.
Beyazıt Fire Tower has a special place among the dozens of symbols that represent Istanbul; for centuries it served as an observation post for firefighters under the Ottomans and into the modern era. With the city’s growth and advancing technology, firefighter eventually left the tower, allowing it to serve its meteorological function, which continued until 1995. The tower was then restored starting in 1997.
This year, under the direction of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s City Lighting and Energy Directorate, Siemens A.Ş. and Osram A.Ş. undertook a project to re-illuminate the top of the tower so that the people of Istanbul could learn what the weather will be.
Although it is used for weather forecasting and provides maritime navigation information on the Golden Horn at night, it has otherwise largely lost it importance, although teams of two firefighters remain stationed at the tower in three shifts for guard purposes.
History of the tower
Following the conquest of Istanbul in 1453, there was a need for new buildings to house the many people attached to the Ottoman court and those who either came to the city of their own accord seeking a better life or were settled in the city by Sultan Fatih Mehmed. This need led to many of the buildings being quickly constructed of wood, which was not as expensive as stone or marble.
Istanbul is a city that is subject to strong winds at times from the northeast and southwest in particular and any fires that started in the city of wooden structures would quickly be fanned into a conflagration by these winds. Fires were fought by the people who lived in the neighborhood, with buckets that they used to scoop up water from fountains, wells and nearby cisterns. The first fire pump in Istanbul was built in the second quarter of the 18th century during the time of the Lale Devri (Tulip Era) by a French convert at the Ottoman court. And Grand Vizier İbrahim Paşa, who was so much a part of the multitude of lavish entertainments staged during this short period (1718-1730), took the time to set up a group of firefighters attached to the Janissaries and equipped them with new pumps.
A tower was finally built as part of the Beyazıt Mosque complex in 1749. But since it was made of wood, it was destroyed in the Cibali fire of 1755. Its replacement, also of wood, was burned down in the riots that took place after Sultan Mahmud II abolished the Janissary corps in 1826. He then appointed the firefighters, who were local tradesmen, to be part of his “New Army.” Palace architect Krikor Balyan rebuilt the tower, but again in wood, and again it was burned down that same year by supporters of the Janissaries. The tower that stands today was built in the baroque style by Senekerim Balyan in 1828.
Balyan’s tower contained just one floor for fire watching; the wooden staircase had 180 steps. Later, three more floors were added to improve signaling. The tower was partly damaged by the earthquake of 1889 and was subsequently restored. At present, the tower has a stone roof and a wooden staircase of 256 steps.
The fire tower at Beyazıt was not the only place from which fire-spotting occurred. Galata Tower and the İcadiye Fire Tower (Vaniköy) were used. The İcadiye Tower in particular was useful for spotting fires on the Anatolian side and the northern part of the Bosphorus.
In order to alert people to fires, during the day baskets were lowered and at night colored lamps were lit. The location of the fire was indicated by the number of baskets and at night by the number and color of the lamps. The İcadiye Tower would fire seven volleys so that people would know that a fire had broken out and they could see from the baskets and lights where. Galata Tower too would hoist a colored lamp or basket when a fire broke out. The Beyazıt Tower was continually used to watch for fires and 20 firemen were stationed there until 1923. Later on it was allowed to decline until even the wooden staircase that led up to the top of the tower became too dangerous to climb.
Edmondo de Amicis, the Italian novelist, journalist, poet and short-story writer, visited Istanbul just four years after the fire that destroyed so much of Beyoğlu in 1870. In his book, “Constantinople,” he writes that he was staying in a hotel in that area when there was a great outcry and people began running in the middle of the night. When he woke up, he was told to look at Galata Tower, where a red light had been placed to alert the general populace that there was a fire.
“As we leaned over the bridge, gazing on the scene before us, the fire completely forgotten, we heard all at once, from across the water, a faint uncertain noise, as of persons calling aloud for help; then, as it drew nearer, shrill cries of ‘Allah! Allah! Allah!’ echoing throughout the great empty space around us, and in a moment we beheld a noisy, evil-looking throng pouring towards us across the bridge.
“‘Tulumbadgi’ [firemen], cried one of the bridge guards, and we drew to one side and watched them as they rushed by, a horde of swarthy, half-naked savages with bare hands and hairy chests, streaming with perspiration, young and old, with faces of thieves and cutthroats, four of them bearing a small pump that looked like a child’s bier on their shoulders, while the others were armed with long beaked poles, coils of rope, axes and picks. On they rushed, uttering hoarse cries, panting for breath, with eyes dilated, streaming hair, grim, determined, their rags fluttering in the wind and poisoning the sweet morning air with the close malodorous smell of wild beasts. Sweeping across the bridge, they finally disappeared in the Rue de Galata, whence fainter and fainter came the cry ‘Allah! Allah!’ till at length profound silence reigned once more.”
Future plans
Special permission has been required to enter the tower since 1972, but Professor Ergun Yolcu, advisor to the rector of Istanbul University, said he hoped the tower would soon be opened to tourists since it, like Galata Tower, commands a 360-degree view of the city.He also said he hoped the university’s campus would be open to tourists so that visitors can see the two kiosks that remain from the old palace built by Fatih Sultan Mehmed in 1458, as well as two monuments, one to German faculty members who found refuge in Turkey after fleeing from the Nazis and the other to Turkish Republican founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the youth.
Plans also call for people dressed as “tulumbacı,” or firefighters, to recreate historical firefighting methods from the first sounding of the warning to the end. There will also be tours available of the campus grounds during the week, Yolcu said.
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