alp34dr
Maiden's Tower in Bosphorus stories
Pain of the admiral
One of the oldest stories about the Maiden’s Tower dates back to the period when Istanbul, or Byzantium as it was called at that time, was under the sovereignty of Athens. According to this story, the Kingdom of Athens sent 40 ships under the command of Admiral Hares to protect Byzantium against the possibility of an attack by the King of Macedonia, Philip. When Hares’ beloved wife Damalys did, he had her buried in a grave that was carved on his order within the rocks here.
Leandra’s love
According to another legend, a young man named Leandra fell in love with a girl here. While he swims all the way from the other side to meet his darling every night, the girl lit a fire over the rocks to show him the way. On a stormy night, the fire that the girl lights for Leandra fades. Leandra cannot find the rocks on which the Maiden’s Tower stands and loses his way. He is drowned in the cold and dark water. His lover cannot bear his loss and takes her own life.
The snake and death
The legend about the Byzantine era ends sadly too. Fortune tellers inform the King that “the death of his beloved daughter will be caused by a snake”. Because the King does not want his daughter to be poisoned by a snake, he has a house built on the rocks where the Maiden’s Tower stands, and locks up the princess in there. However, a young officer falls in love with the King’s daughter. One day he prepares a bunch of flowers to offer to the princess. But a snake hides within the flowers, and bites the princess, who soon dies.
Maiden's Tower in Bosphorus stories
Pain of the admiral
One of the oldest stories about the Maiden’s Tower dates back to the period when Istanbul, or Byzantium as it was called at that time, was under the sovereignty of Athens. According to this story, the Kingdom of Athens sent 40 ships under the command of Admiral Hares to protect Byzantium against the possibility of an attack by the King of Macedonia, Philip. When Hares’ beloved wife Damalys did, he had her buried in a grave that was carved on his order within the rocks here.
Leandra’s love
According to another legend, a young man named Leandra fell in love with a girl here. While he swims all the way from the other side to meet his darling every night, the girl lit a fire over the rocks to show him the way. On a stormy night, the fire that the girl lights for Leandra fades. Leandra cannot find the rocks on which the Maiden’s Tower stands and loses his way. He is drowned in the cold and dark water. His lover cannot bear his loss and takes her own life.
The snake and death
The legend about the Byzantine era ends sadly too. Fortune tellers inform the King that “the death of his beloved daughter will be caused by a snake”. Because the King does not want his daughter to be poisoned by a snake, he has a house built on the rocks where the Maiden’s Tower stands, and locks up the princess in there. However, a young officer falls in love with the King’s daughter. One day he prepares a bunch of flowers to offer to the princess. But a snake hides within the flowers, and bites the princess, who soon dies.