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Think of a small tower in the midst of a channel which both separates and unites two continents. A tower, subject to so many legends that everyone says it must be the most romantic building ever! Maiden’s Tower, which is at the very point Asia and Europe intersect, on the shores of Salacak in Anatolian side, and at the south entrance of the Bosphorus, is exactly such a tower.

The history of Maiden’s Tower, which is the symbol of Istanbul according to whole world, dates back to 2500 years ago. The great Latin poet, Ovidius, tells about Leandros who swims across the Dardanelle every night to be able to see a priestess of Aphrodite, Hero, whom he is in love with. When this myth was perfectly adapted to Bosphorus, the other channel of Marmara, the name “Leandros Tower”, which the westerners gave the tower, emerged. The Turkish name, “Maiden’s Tower”, comes from one (or all) of the stories associated with the tower, which absolutely include a young maiden. (You can read these stories in the website of the tower or when you make your visit.)

The myths are romantic, however the history is not: Maiden’s Tower is not associated with love in history. For example, it is said that in 411 AD Athens-Spartan war, a defense chain was tied between the rocky island of Maiden’s Tower and Sarayburnu. It is also known that the Byzantine Emperor Manuel Komnenos had a fortress built on this island. Fatih the Conqueror, when he took over Istanbul, demolished this fortress and built his own. The tower, which the Ottomans generally used as a stage for the janissary band, was destroyed in 1510 earthquake called “the Small Apocalypse” and it was repaired. Occasionally sultans imprisoned their servants in the tower, and during the cholera outbreak of 1830, an isolated quaratine hospital was built in the tower. But the tower was used mostly as a security station and a lighthouse.

The building was passed over to government agencies in the republic period and from 1992, it has been subject to numerous media projects. A poet even went up to the tower with her friends and declared the “Maiden’s Tower Republic of Poetry”.

Restored to its final state in 2000, Maiden’s Tower now serves as a café in daytime and a special restaurant at nights and, as you can easily guess, is a very popular venue among tourists. 

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