Maiden's Tower

Rising alone amidst the waves in the middle of the Bosphorus, the Maiden's Tower adds unparalleled elegance to the city's skyline. This historical structure, with its legends and magical atmosphere passed down through centuries, holds a special place in the eyes of both Istanbulites and foreign visitors. Thanks to its location in the waters of the Bosphorus, the Maiden's Tower takes on a different beauty at every moment of the day, especially at sunrise and sunset, captivating viewers with its silvery silhouette as it greets the horizon. This elegant tower, defying time in the heart of Istanbul, is like a legend inviting those who see it into its own fairytale world.

History of Maiden's Tower

The history of the Maiden's Tower dates back to Antiquity. It is known that the first tower was built on the small islet where the current tower stands in 410 BC by the Athenian commander Alcibiades to inspect ships coming from the Black Sea and collect taxes. In the 12th century, Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos had a defensive tower built on the islet and connected it to the Mangana Tower at Sarayburnu with an iron chain, thus controlling the entrance and exit of the Bosphorus. During the conquest of Istanbul (1453), the tower housed a Byzantine garrison under the command of the Venetian Gabriele Trevisano; after the conquest, Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror had a small fortress built on the islet, ensuring that the tower was used as a lookout point and military garrison for the Ottomans. During the Ottoman period, a military band played at the tower every evening, and on special occasions such as the enthronement of the Sultan and holidays, cannons were fired from the Maiden's Tower to celebrate.

Over time, the Maiden's Tower has been damaged by disasters such as earthquakes and fires, and has been repaired numerous times. Damaged in the great earthquake of 1509 ("The Little Apocalypse"), the tower was repaired immediately afterward during the reign of Selim I (Yavuz Sultan Selim). In the early 18th century, when the tower, whose interior was made of wood, suffered a major fire and was destroyed, Sultan Ahmed III's Grand Vizier, Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha, carried out a comprehensive restoration of the tower in 1725 and added a lantern to the top to guide ships at night. From this repair onwards, the Maiden Tower began to serve as a lighthouse rather than a defensive fortress. In 1832, as a result of the restoration carried out during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II, the tower largely acquired its present appearance; a marble inscription bearing the 1832 dated tughra of Sultan Mahmud II, written by the famous calligrapher Rasim, was placed above the entrance gate.

During the Ottoman period, the Maiden Tower was also used for strategic and practical purposes due to its location. During the great cholera epidemic that broke out in Istanbul between 1830-1831, the tower was converted into a quarantine hospital to prevent the spread of the epidemic in the city. Similarly, during the plague epidemic of 1836-1837, some of the patients were isolated in the tower to prevent the spread of the disease. In 1857, the Maiden's Tower was transferred to the Lighthouse Administration, and a new and powerful lighthouse was installed by a French company. In 1926, the tower passed to the Istanbul Port Authority and continued to be used as both a lighthouse station and a gas depot.

Throughout the Republican era, the Maiden's Tower assumed various functions. From the 1950s onwards, it was used for a time as a radar station, guiding ships with foghorns in foggy weather, and providing 24-hour reports of ship passages by officials monitoring Bosphorus traffic. In 1964, the tower was transferred to the Ministry of National Defense and served as a military surveillance and radar station. Then, in the 1980s, after completing its defense duties, it was transferred to the Turkish Maritime Enterprises. The Maiden's Tower was first opened to the public in 1995 as a restaurant and observation deck, leased to a private company for tourism purposes after extensive restoration.

Today, the Maiden's Tower was transferred to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Turkey in 2020, and after the completion of restoration work that began in 2021, it was reopened to visitors in May 2023. Now serving as a monumental museum, the tower continues to welcome visitors with the information exhibited inside and its terrace overlooking the Bosphorus. This structure, which has defied centuries, continues to be one of the most important symbols of Istanbul, preserving its historical heritage.

Architecture of Maiden's Tower

The Maiden's Tower is located on a small rocky islet in the Marmara Sea section of the Bosphorus, approximately 100 meters from the Salacak coast of Üsküdar. The tower has a square-plan base structure and a conical-roofed upper tower section rising above it. With a ground floor and two upper floors, the structure has a total of three floors and is approximately 25 meters above sea level. It was constructed using cut stone, and its general architecture reflects a blend of Byzantine and Ottoman aesthetic elements.

Most of the visible base and lower floor sections of the tower belong to the original structure from the reign of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. The upper floors and the main tower section were shaped by repairs made in later centuries. The marble inscription remaining from the restoration commissioned by Mahmud II in 1832, along with the tughra (imperial seal) on it, can still be seen above the entrance door today. On the facade of the structure facing the European side (Sarayburnu), there is an old cistern used to collect rainwater. Despite its small scale, the Maiden's Tower, with its elegant proportions and domed tower rising from the top, stands out as one of the most impressive parts of the Istanbul skyline, both when viewed from land and sea.

Exploring Maiden's Tower by Yacht

As you sail towards the waters off Salacak, the Maiden's Tower stands like a structure patiently waiting to be approached, not revealing itself immediately, and this distance instantly arouses a strong sense of curiosity. Perceived as a romantic symbol from land, the tower takes on a much deeper character from the sea, with its solitude, silence, and timelessness, beginning to tell its own story in the middle of the Bosphorus. Despite its proximity to the Üsküdar shore, the water creates a deliberate gap between the tower and the observer, making the structure's narrative more impressive and memorable. As the yacht moves parallel to the shore, the Maiden's Tower, thanks to the open space around it, almost sets its own stage, offering a sense of unhurried observation. This angle, far from the noise, makes the tower's centuries-old, unchanging stance and its special connection with the Bosphorus much clearer. At this point, time slows down, and the Bosphorus ceases to be merely a passageway and transforms into a landscape to behold. Truly experiencing such a feeling is only possible when you leave the chaos of the city behind, charter a yacht, and sail along this route. Those wishing to see the Maiden's Tower by yacht can instantly view which charter yachts in our fleet are suitable for this route and how much they will pay based on the number of people, charter duration, menu, and extra service preferences by making their selections on the online price calculator at yatkiralama.net/en.