The Maiden’s Tower on a very small island on the Bosphorus. It’s called the ‘Kiz Kulesi’ in Turkish.

It was first built in 408BC by the Athenians to control the movement of ships on the Bosphorus. It was later rebuilt and enlarged by the Byzantine Empire in 1110AD; it was later restored by the Ottomans in 1509 and 1763.

There is a popular Turkish legend: an oracle prophesised that the sultan’s daughter would be killed by a snake on her 18th birthday. In an attempt to keep her daughter safe, he sent her to the Tower. On her 18th birthday, the sultan brought his daughter a basket full of exotic fruits as a present. Unfortunately there was a snake hiding in the basket and bit the sultan’s daughter when she reached for a fruit. She later died in her father’s, the oracle’s prophecy fulfilled.

As is.

157 views – 01/07/11