Çamlıca Tower

Küçük Çamlıca TV-Radyo Kulesi was completed in 2021 to consolidate the forest of transmission masts that had accumulated on the Asian hills - dozens of separate antennae were removed and their broadcasts moved into this one structure, which was the practical argument for building it. It stands 369 metres tall on a hill already 250 metres up, so the top is well over 500 metres above the Bosphorus, and the enclosed observation decks and the revolving restaurant give the widest view available of the city: both bridges, the Golden Horn, the old city skyline, the Princes' Islands and, on clear days, a long way up the strait. The design, in stone-clad concrete with a tapering profile, was intended to read as a landmark rather than infrastructure, and opinions on how well that worked vary. Lifts run to the decks; the queue at weekends is the main obstacle.

What you actually see

• The observation decks - enclosed viewing floors near the top.
• The full city panorama - bridges, Golden Horn and old city.
• The revolving restaurant - the dining floor above the decks.
• The hill setting - Çamlıca's woods and the mosque nearby.

When to go

April to June and September to October, on a clear day - haze ruins the view and there is no refund for weather. Late afternoon for sunset; weekends queue badly.

Honest expectations

The view is entirely through glass. Tickets are not cheap and the restaurant is expensive. On hazy or overcast days it is not worth the trip. Getting up the hill needs a taxi or bus.

Nearby

Grand Çamlıca Mosque is on the neighbouring hill; Üsküdar and Kuzguncuk are down on the shore.