Maiden's Tower to be closed for one week

The General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums announced on its official Twitter account that the site will be closed to visitors for one week between April 24 and April 30, 2024.

During this period, inspection work is planned to be carried out on the island by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.

ABOUT THE MAIDEN'S TOWER

The Maiden's Tower is a structure built on a small islet located off the coast of Salacak, in the part of the Bosphorus near the Sea of Marmara.

Following the naval victory at Cyzicus in 408 BC, the Athenian general Alcibiades built a special station on a small rock in front of Üsküdar, likely for ships arriving from the Black Sea.

The tower, which has become the symbol of Üsküdar, is the only structure remaining from the Byzantine era in Üsküdar. It has a history dating back to 24 BC.

In 1110, Byzantine Emperor Alexios I built a wooden tower protected by a stone wall. An iron chain was stretched from the tower to another tower erected in the Mangana district of Constantinople (a neighborhood on the historic peninsula). The islet was later connected to the Asian shore by a defensive wall, the underwater remains of which are still visible.

During the conquest of Istanbul by the Ottomans in 1453, the tower housed a Byzantine garrison led by the Venetian Gabriele Trevisano. Later, the structure was used as a watchtower by the Ottoman Turks during the reign of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror.

Initially hosting a tomb during the Greek period, this island was used as a customs station with an additional building constructed during the Byzantine era. During the Ottoman period, it took on many functions, from a performance platform to a defensive fortress, and from an exile station to a quarantine room. It has never lost its primary function of guiding people and, for centuries, ships passing by at night with its lighthouse.

Some European historians call it Leander's Tower. There are many legends about the tower. Known in antiquity by the names "arkla" (small fortress) and "damialis" (calf), the tower was also famous for a time under the name "Tour de Leandros" (Leander's Tower). Now, it has become integrated with the name Maiden's Tower and is known by this name.

The Maiden's Tower, which has a very old history, was once used to collect taxes from ships passing through the Bosphorus. A large chain was stretched from the tower along the European side, and ships were allowed to pass between the Anatolian side and the Maiden's Tower (they were able to pass because ship sizes were small at that time). After a while, the tower could not support the chain and it collapsed toward the European side. Its ruins can be seen when looking into the water from the tower.

The tower was destroyed in the 1509 earthquake, rebuilt, and burned down in 1721. Grand Vizier Damat Ibrahim Pasha ordered its reconstruction, and the new building was used as a lighthouse; the surrounding walls were repaired in 1731 and 1734.

Finally, in 1763, the tower was rebuilt with more durable stone. It was used as a quarantine station starting in 1829 and was restored again by Sultan Mahmud II in 1832.

In 1945, it was the port authority's turn to patch up the tower. It was later restored again in 1998 and recently appeared in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough.

News Source: 12punto