Audio GuideMaiden's Tower

In the heart of Istanbul, across the shimmering currents of the Bosphorus, stands the Maiden’s Tower—Kız Kulesi—a slender monument rising from a small islet near Üsküdar. The tower’s origins stretch back over two thousand years, beginning as a strategic customs station for ships sailing between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. Over the centuries, it has witnessed the transformation of empires, surviving invasions, earthquakes, and fires.

Ibrahim Beytekin

Byzantine emperors built early versions from wood and stone, later stretching heavy iron chains across the water to control passing ships. The Ottomans, after capturing the city in the mid-fifteenth century, used the tower as a watchpost, a lighthouse, and even a quarantine station during outbreaks of disease. Despite all these changes, the light atop Kız Kulesi has always guided sailors safely at night and through fog.

Gencebay GÜR

Legends swirl around the tower. The most famous tells of a sultan’s beloved daughter, hidden here after a prophecy claimed she would die from a snakebite. On her eighteenth birthday, a serpent, hidden in a fruit basket, struck and the prophecy was fulfilled—giving the tower its everlasting association with romance and fate. Another myth borrows from an ancient Greek tale of Hero and Leander, star-crossed lovers separated by the water.

WARxSØFE

Architecturally, the tower has grown and changed—a base of stone from the Ottoman period supports upper floors added in later centuries. Its design shows traces of Greek, Byzantine, and Turkish influences, each layer telling a story of its time.

Kız Kulesi is not only a symbol of Istanbul but also a part of daily life and art—gracing Turkish banknotes, paintings, and novels, and inviting filmmakers from James Bond to local dramas. Recently, a major restoration brought new life to its walls while preserving historic details. Locals see the tower as both a guardian of memory and a beacon of love, a place where history and legend meet above the waters.