Kız Kulesi

( LEANDER'S TOWER)

A Tower of many legends

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about them . And yet, a lot h as been said abo u t som e of th em ,su c h as th e one seen from th e Ista n b u l H ilton. The lig h th o u se s ta n d s on a tin y

islet w here th e B osphorus and th e Sea of M a rm a ra m eet, and is about two h u ndred y a rd s off Ü sk ü d ar.

F e rry b o a ts to and from Ü sk ü d a r cruise close-by th is lighthouse. More curious to u ris ts can h ire a b o a t a t Ü sk ü dar fe rry b o a t landing a re a and can pay a v isit to th e lig hth ouse, one of th e le a st-v isite d s ig h ts in I s ta n ­ bul. Those who happened to see th e movie called T O PK A PI, would well rem em ber th e close-up sh o ts of th e lighthouse.

T his little building in th e form of a little tow er has a long and legen­ d a ry h isto ry behind it. A ccording to som e h isto ria n s, th e A th en ian com ­ m an der A lkibiades p u t a custom s house here on th e platfo rm form ed by th e rise of th e sea bottom in 500 B.C., to collect a toll from th e b oats com ing down from th e Black Sea. It is said th a t th e toll w as as m uch as ten p ercent of th e goods th e b oats w ere c a rry in g . L a ter, th e B yzantines who held th e c ity un til 1453 and then th e O tto m an T u rk s who conquered it, happily m ain tain ed th is charge.

A ccording to th e B yzantine a u ­ th o r N icetas C honiates, th e E m peror M anuel Com nenus built in th e tw elfth c e n tu ry a sm all b u t a s tro n g fo rtre s s in th e place of th e custom s house. In o rd er to close th e B osphorus S tra its to th e tra ffic , he a tta ch e d one end of heavy iron ch ains to th is fo rtre s s , fixing th e o th e r end to th e

Tow er of M angana below th e a c ro ­ polis (th e point a t th e foot of the Topkapi Palace w alls on the Sea of M a rm a ra ). To m ake su re th a t th e re was no access to th e im perial w aters, th e space betw een th e f o rtre s s and th e A n ato lian sh ores was blocked by a fo rtified wall, th e rem ains of which a re still visible un der w ater. The B yzantines had g re a t fa ith in fo r­ tified w alls and had sea and land w alls aro u n d th e ir city. T hey even had a n o th e r chain a t th e m outh of th e Golden H orn inlet. Insp ite of all these p recau tio n s, th e O ttom an T u rk s m anaged to conquer C o n sta n ­ tinople by tra n s p o rtin g th e ir fleet o verland into th e Golden H orn.

A fte r th e conquest, th e little fo rtre ss on th e islet w as converted ag ain into a wooden to w er and to guide th e sea tra ffic th ey h a d a p e r­ m anen t to rc h lit on it. It is m ost probable t h a t th e to rc h and th e s tro n g winds caused th e fire on th e is le t,a n d th e lighthouse was burned to ashes in 1721, and th en reb u ilt in brick w ith a lead dome and colum ns.

L a te r it w as used as a ja il for political p risoners, q u a ra n tin e and convalescent home fo r naval o f­ ficers. Today, it is a sig n a l s ta tio n w ith a sem aphore.

The lighth ouse is known as Kiz Kulesi. The literal tra n s la tio n is the

M aiden’s Tower. The h o te l’s ro o fto p b a r is nam ed a fte r th is tow er as it is

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best seen from th is b a r in th e hotel. A ccording to th e legend, the tow er took its nam e a fte r a m aiden princess who w as doomed to d eath * by a s e rp e n t’s bite. A dire prophecy foretold th e fa te of th e d a u g h te r of a su lta n t h a t she w as to die by a s e rp e n t’s bite. In o rd er to p ro te c t his

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N ineteenth century etching

beloved d a u g h te r, th e su lta n confined h e r to th is islet w here he th o u g h t th e re would be no snakes. N eedless to say, th e p rincess w as even tually b itte n to d e a th by a se rp e n t who m anaged to come to th is rocky islet hidden in a b a sk e t of fru it.

E u ro p e an s call th is place th e L e a n d er’s Tow er in m em ory of th e d e a th of th e ro m a n tic lover L ean d er w ho w as drow ned in try in g to swim across th e s tr a it to jo in his beloved Hero. In th e legend, th is tra g e d y took place n e a r Abydos in th e D a r­ d an elles,n o t in th e B osphorus. L a te r, fam ous B ritish poet L ord B yron m anaged to swim acro ss th e D a r ­ danelles from th is point. The ro m a n ­ ce sy m p a th ise rs probably did not m ind to have a m onum ent fo r th e

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legendary lovers in a n o th e r S tra it. In additio n to its h isto ry and legends, th e to w er has a folk tale as well. A ccording to h e a rsa y , the A rab

Commamd/er S ey it B a tta l ,G azi who w as a M o s t a legend ary hero w ith su p erh u m an p o w e rs , w aited outside th e c ity fo r seven y e a rs in o rd er to conquer C onstantinople. In re a lity , it w as seven y e a rs ’ itch fo r him as he fell in love w ith th e d a u g h te r of th e B yzantine g o v ern o r of Ü sk ü d a r. In o rd er to sa fe g u a rd th e g irl, th e B y­ zan tine E m p e ro r ordered th e con­ s tru c tio n o f a to w er on th is islet w hich is in th e close v icin ity o f Ü s ­ k ü d ar. In th e end Seyit B a tta l Gazi kidnapped his lover to g e th e r w ith h e r tre a su re s.

W h atev er is th e tru e s to ry of th e tow er, we do n o t know. We would r a th e r leave it to th e im ag in ation of th e read ers to p re fe r w hichever sto ry th e y like best as th e tru e h is­ to ry o f th is little tower.