Maiden’s Tower

When and by who was the

Maiden's Tower built?
● Maiden's Tower was built in 1725 by the Greek
commander Alcibiades.
What was it built for ?
● There are many stories of the Maiden's Tower, the most
popular of which is the following: She became the daughter of
one of the Byzantine kings and a prophecy was made about the
girl. The princess was going to die at the age of 18 after being
bitten by a snake. Hearing this, the king restored the tower on
the island in the middle of the sea and transformed it into a
place where the princess could live. When the princess was 18
years old, the snake, which was hidden in a grape basket
brought by the servants or a flower basket brought by a young
officer who fell in love with the princess, reached the island
and killed the princess by stinging her.
●
What has it been used for
through history ?
● This island, which hosted a tomb in the Greek
period, was used as a customs station with the
annex building built in the Byzantine period. In the
Ottoman period, many functions were loaded, from
the demonstration platform to the defense castle,
from the exile station to the quarantine room. The
Maiden's Tower, which has a very old history, was
once used for the purpose of collecting taxes from
the ships passing through the Bosphorus.
 Has it been damaged

Apart from the Maiden's Tower, the waves coming from the sea and the weather, Istanbul
also suffered from the earthquake that went down in history. It has undergone
approximately 2500 historical repairs. There are many restoration and information
information about the Maiden's Tower in the records.

With this information, a study was carried out in the Maiden's Tower in 1453 after the
conquest of Istanbul by Fatih Sultan Mehmet.

There was a big event in the Istanbul earthquake of 1509, which is also known as the
"little apocalypse" in history. Thereupon, it was repaired again during the reign of Yavuz
Sultan Selim.
 What are the legends, fairy tales about the building ?

There are many stories of the Maiden's Tower, the most popular of which
is the following: She became the daughter of one of the Byzantine kings
and a prophecy was made about the girl. The princess was going to die at
the age of 18 after being bitten by a snake. Hearing this, the king restored
the tower on the island in the middle of the sea and transformed it into a
place where the princess could live. When the princess was 18 years old,
the snake, which was hidden in a grape basket brought by the servants or a
flower basket brought by a young officer who fell in love with the
princess, reached the island and killed the princess by stinging her.
 Thank you for listening

Nehir Çiçek Urtekin

Berra Arpa
Ayşe Sena Güneş
Halil Eymen Yılmaz