Maiden's Tower
One of the indispensable places for the Bosphorus view is undoubtedly the Maiden's Tower. The tower, built on a tiny island off the coast of Salacak, is the subject of many legends. One of these and the most well-known is the Leandros legend, which gave its name to the tower (Leander's Tower). The story of Leondros and Hero, lovers who brave the sea between them, will end in tragedy.
On a stormy night, when Leondros sees the light on the tower, he thinks that his lover Hero is calling him and jumps into the sea. However, this time it is not Hero who turns on the light, but someone else who realizes that the lovers meet secretly every night and turns off the light. Leondros is buried in the waves of the Bosphorus; Unable to bear the pain of this, Hero ends her life by jumping from the tower. At the end of the legend, a lighthouse is built on the site of the tower in the name of the lovers. Dating back to 24 BC, the Maiden's Tower has been used as a defense castle, exile station, prison, quarantine room, radio station, tax point and lighthouse throughout its long history.
The tower, which is the symbol of Üsküdar, was opened to service as a cafe and restaurant after it was restored by a private company in 2000.
Maiden's Tower Restoration
The restoration work on the Maiden's Tower in Istanbul is carried out under the supervision of our Ministry and under the consultancy of our academics who are experts in their fields, in line with approved projects, in accordance with universal protection principles, and all data obtained during the work is evaluated with sensitivity. As a result of the data obtained within the scope of the studies, static reports were prepared by academics working at ITU and FSMVÜ to evaluate the static situation of the building, and an architectural report was prepared by the Advisory Committee to evaluate the proposed interventions from an architectural perspective.
Scope of Restoration
Istanbul Maiden's Tower Restoration, Exhibition, Arrangement and Landscaping Work, which started in 2021, was carried out by the Republic of Turkey in line with the projects approved by the conservation board. It was carried out under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and was completed on May 11, 2023, and the Maiden's Tower was opened to visitors with its new face. The studies in question are; It aimed to cleanse the structure of the annexes that were added later and do not suit the original character of the building and to restore it to its original details. Experts in the field, Prof. Dr. Zeynep Ahunbay, Prof. Dr. Feridun Çılı and Han Tümertekin provided support as consultants.
Source Türkiye Culture Portal History of Istanbul