Directly in front of the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, on the opposite bank of the Golden Horn, just off the Bosporus, once stood the medieval walls that protected the colony of the Republic of Genoa. The Galata Colony was independent of the Byzantine Empire and existed between 1273 and the fall of Constantinople. During the siege of the city by the Turks in 1453, merchants from Genoa protected their own commercial interests by collaborating with the Ottoman Sultan. After the conquest of Constantinople, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror appreciated their help, allowing the continuation of trade in this area.
At highest point of the colony, in 1348 Genovese built the Galata Tower, and called it the Tower of Christ. This medieval Romanesque stone tower was used by merchants to observe the Bosporus.
