Legend of Leandros
The first legend related to the Maiden’s Tower is recorded by Ovid. According to the legend, Hero, a nun in the Temple of Aphrodite in Sestos falls in love with Leander, who lives in Abydos. Every night, Leander swims across the water to visit Hero in Sestos. One day, a storm arises and causes the lantern light in the tower to go out, and Leander loses his way, and eventually drowns. The next day, when Hero sees his dead body on the shore, she throws herself into the water, committing suicide.
Legend of Princess
Another well-known legend associated with the Maiden’s Tower is about the king and his daughter. The king has been warned by a fortune-teller that his daughter would die from a snakebite and asked to take precautions. To protect his daughter, the king had the Maiden’s Tower built on the rocks of Salacak, Üsküdar. He placed his daughter in the Maiden’s Tower for her safety. The king would send various kinds of food to his daughter in a basket and he did it regularly. However, one day, a snake hidden in the basket bit the king’s daughter causing her death from being poisoned.
