“Made on the sea, one arrow distance away from the land, it is a four-cornered artistically constructed high tower. It is eighty arşın tall. When its surface is measured, it would make two hundred steps. It has doors from two sides.”

This is how Evliya Çelebi describes the pearl of Bosphorus, which is the Maiden’s Tower, in his seyahatname (book of travels)… The tower, which was known as “Arcla”, in other words ‘little castle”, and “Damialis”, which means ‘kid of a calf’ during the Antiquity, also was recognized under the name of “Tour de Leandros”, meaning Tower of Leandros. The history of the tower, about which many rumors are told, and which was subject to legends, goes back to 411 B.C.

The most well-known story about the Maiden’s Tower, is the snake story, in which a fate reminding Cleopatra’s demise is told. According to the prophesy, the king was told that her beloved daughter would be killed by a venomous snake on her 18th birthday. The king, in an effort to thwart his daughter's early demise by placing her away from land so as to keep her away from any snakes, had the tower built in the middle of the Bosphorus and the princess was placed in the tower. However, a snake, which had been hiding among the grapes in a grape basket sent to the tower caused the death of the princess.

The king ordered an iron casket to be made for her daughter, he placed it on top of the entrance gate of Hagia Sophia. Rumors about the snake pestering the princess even after her death have reached our day. For, it is still told that there were two small holes on the casket.

This small tower, established on the rocky space at the entrance of Bosphorus, was used within the historical process as customs station, watchtower and lighthouse. The current foundations of the tower, along with the important parts of the ground floor were carried out during the time of Mehmed the Conqueror.

The Maidens’ Tower, which greets the rowing-boats, vessels and ships of Bosphorus every hour of the day, was opened for tourism in the year 2000, following the end of renovation works, which were initiated in 1998. The Maidens’ Tower, which is accessed by rowing-boats departing from Salacak and Ortaköy, still continues to host its guests, as one of the most important symbols of İstanbul.