593 - Maiden’s Tower
Today I uncovered the legend of the Maiden’s Tower.
Maybe I should rephrase that. I heard about the Maiden’s Tower, took a photo of it, then learned about its history.
Not nearly as epic as that first line. But… the story of the tower did tickle my fancy, so I’m going to share it with you, my beloved reader.
Let’s start with the basics. The Maiden’s Tower is a structure in the middle of the Bosphorus Strait, a “river” that runs right through the center of Istanbul, Turkey. It was originally built in the year 1110, during the Byzantine Empire. In case you didn’t know, that’s the Roman Empire.
The myth surrounding the tower involves a young woman named Hero, and a young man named Leander. Hero was a priestess under the supervision of Aphrodite (the goddess of Love), and she lived in the tower. Leander on the other hand, was an ordinary man from the shoreline that ended up falling in love with Hero.
How? I have no idea. But in order to spend time with her, he swam across the river every night. Hero, in turn, would light a lamp in the tower to illuminate a pathway through the treacherous waters.
But on one stormy winter night, the light went out. Leander got lost in the rough waters, and ended up drowning. Devastated by the news, Hero threw herself off the tower and died shortly after.
Here’s the tower:
“The Maiden’s Tower”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Sony 24-105mm f/4
[ISO 50 ~ 87mm ~ f/4 ~ 1/4000s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
As you can see, I timed the sunset into the tower window to show you what it might have felt like to be Leander. Except also envision yourself in freezing waves, complete darkness, amongst mysterious creatures. The man was deep in love.
To contextualize the sunset a bit better, here’s what the skyline looks like in the background:
“Line of Sky”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3
[ISO 50 ~ 241.3mm ~ f/6.3 ~ 1/125s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
It was a beautiful sunset, despite the fact that there weren’t many clouds in the sky. It makes that silhouette of the skyline hit that much harder. Nothing like that in the Western world.
Now… There's one more story about the tower I want to tell you… And this one is arguably better.
It all starts with an oracle predicting that a famous emperor’s daughter would die from a snake bite on her 19th birthday. So in order to keep her safe, the emperor built a tower in the middle of the river and put his daughter in it. He was the only one allowed to visit her.
And it worked. Not a single snake was seen in her entire life. To celebrate the breaking of the prophecy, on her 18th birthday, the emperor brought her a basket full of exotic fruit. But when she reached in to grab one, a hidden snake jumped out and bit her. She died in her father’s arms shortly after.
To be 100% honest, I’m not sure what the moral of either of these stories are. But it was a good photo op.
I got one more shot of the street on the way out:
“Turkish Moon”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Sony 24-105mm f/4
[ISO 320 ~ 105mm ~ f/4 ~ 1/80s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Have a good night y’all. If you live in a tower… I’d suggest moving out.
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
Want to see my progress? Check out the Adventure Map.
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