The Tophane clock tower, also called the Nusretiye clock tower after the mosque beside it, stands in the Kılıçali Paşa quarter of Beyoğlu, on Amerikan Pazarı Sokak. The tram between Kabataş and Bağcılar stops at Tophane, a short walk away.
It was built for Sultan Abdülmecid in the second half of the nineteenth century. The monogram of that sultan is set above the door on the face that looks towards the sea, and it is the only mark of authorship the building carries: neither the exact year nor the architect is recorded by the Ministry's culture portal.
The tower rises in four storeys, narrowing by stages as it goes up, with the clock faces at the top. Its four faces are designed alike, and the elevations are worked with Doric and Ionic columns, arched openings and bracketed supports.
One storey of the tower had been buried under earth and came to light during the building of Galataport. The tower now takes part in events held within that development.
When to go
- Climate
- Across İstanbul as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from 6.8 °C in January to 24.7 °C in August; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in May, June, July, August, September and October; rainfall is heaviest in December (99 mm) and lightest in July (22 mm). Long-term means for 1950-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
