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But one stormy night he is drowned and his body washed up on
the rocks at the foot of the towerThis story is one of
several based on that of Hero and Leander.
Having set the
record straight, here is the original version of Hero and
Leander.A young man named Leander living in the city of
Abydos on the southern shore of Canakkale Strait fell in
love with the beautiful priestess Hero, and she was with him.Since
she was forbidden to marry, Leander visited her secretely
every night, swimming across the strait from Abydos to
Sestos where Hero lived.So that Leander could find his way
in the darkness, Hero carried a torch up to the top of the
tower where she lived each night and waited until he arrived.
But one stormy night torrential rain extinguished the torch
in Hero's hand, and unable to find the right direction,
Leander was eventually exhausted by the waves and drowned.At
down the next morning Hero saw Leander's ragged shirt in the
sea and threw herself into the water.So the two lovers were
united at last in death.Many myths and legends bear a
similiar resemblance to others, the location changing while
the story remain the same
Another story concerning the tower, according to which a
Byzantine fortune teller predicted that the beautiful
daughter of the Emperor Constantine would be killed by a
snake bite.Her father first concealed his daughter ina
coffin at Hagia Sofia, and then had this tower built for her
to live in.However, a poisonous snake concealed in a basket
of grapes sent to her caused the girl's death.In some
versions of the story the emperor becomes a sultan, and the
17th century Turkish writer Evliya Celebi relates a version
whose heroes are Battal Gazi and the Byzantine emperor
Now let
us turn from legend to fact.The Byzantine emperor Manuel
Comnene(1143-1180)had two towers built, one on the shore
near where Topkapi Palace was later constructed, and the
other where the Maiden's Tower stands today.Chains were
drawn across the mouth of the strait between these two
towers when Istanbul was atttacted by enemy fleets
The
original tower was rebuilt after Sultan Mehmed II conquered
Istanbul in 1453.This structure undervent various changes
over the centuries as a result of repairs and fires, and was
extensively renovated during the reign of Mahmud II when it
took the form we see today |
