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Built on the rocks of
the asian shore at the mouth of the Bosphorus Strait, hundereds of
ships, ferries and motor boats sail past the Maiden's Tower every
day.For centuries its light has illuminated the darkness, giving
sailors a landmark by which to navigate.That light has become part
of a story or perhaps real in the distant past.A young man fell in
love with a girl who was living in the tower and swam from Galata on
the Europian shore each night to keep tryst with her.
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
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