TALES OF AN ISLET In Istanbul, on the Bosphorus, the Maiden's Tower On one side is Rumelia and on the other Anatolia, to the south is the Sea of Marmara and to the north is the Black Sea. And in the middle of the restless Bosphorus, on an islet, shines the Maiden's Tower, and wherever the view reaches is the posing Istanbul, the world's only city to sprawl across two continents, colourful, noisy, fragrant, unique…
T he Bosphorus is a strait that‘s 30 km long and up to 3,700 meters wide at its northern end. It is just 750 metres wide at the point between the fortresses of Anadoluhis- arı and Rumelihisarı. With both banks densely populated, you can see all the beauty of Istanbul while sailing through its turbulent waters. Ships depart from the port of Eminönü, from the Golden Horn, head along the European side, pass under two monumental bridges connecting the continents, and then turn around, voyage along the Asian side and return to the port. Along the length of the coast are a large number of beautiful villas, some of which represent historic structures, while you can also see Topkapi Palace, numerous mosques, both Bosphorus bridges and all the grandeur of Istan- bul. Standing out among these mag- nificent sights is a tower flying a flag, perched on a tiny island in the middle of the Bosphorus, between Europe and Asia. This is the Maiden‘s Tower or, as the Turks call it, Kız Kulesi. Although it is beautiful enough in its own right, often pictured with the birds that vis- it it regularly, this tower also deserves attention because of the unusual sto- ries associated with its origins. And they are all about tragic love. In the first version, this is the love of a father for his daughter during the time of Byzantium, while there is a much older tale, dating back to the time of the Greek gods, about the love between a nun and a boy called Le- ander. The first story goes like this… During the period of the Eastern Ro- man Empire, one Byzantine emper-
or received a prophecy that his be- loved daughter would die when she turned 18, from a snake bite. In his desire to protect his beloved girl from such a fate, the emperor built a small fortress with a tower, on an islet, in the waters of the Bosphorus, believ- ing that no snake could swim to the princess. And as tends to happen in terrible myths and fairy tales, he him- self became the tragic hero of this sto- ry. When his daughter‘s 18 th birthday arrived, the emperor forbade everyone from going to the island and set off himself with a basket full of the most delicious fruit for his dearest daugh- ter. A snake was of course hiding in the basket and duly killed the unfor- tunate girl. And that‘s why it‘s called the Maiden‘s Tower. According to the second tale, which has a similarly tragic end, the islet belonged to a temple dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite that was home to a priestess called Hero. She often watched people in search of love praying to the goddess Aphrodite and, wanting the same for herself, she fell in love with a boy called Leander. He swam to the tower every evening to be with her, returning to the shore in the morning. During one stormy evening, a jealous priest turned off all the lights in the tower and Leander was unable to find the tower before he drowned in the turbulent waters. It is because of this tale that the tower is often re- ferred to as Leander‘s Tower. Whichever tale you prefer, this place should be visited because of its location and appearance, if for no other reason, and because it is also dubbed the Pearl of the Bosphorus.
Jedne olujne večeri ljubomorni sveštenik pogasio je sva svetla u kuli i Leander nije mogao da je nađe, pa se udavio u nemirnoj vodi / During one stormy evening, a jealous priest turned off all the lights in the tower and Leander was unable to find the tower before he drowned in the turbulent waters
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