Kizkulesi Tour

Kizkulesi is translated in English as "Maiden's Tower" and it's one of the most romantic symbols in Istanbul.

Legend has it that a princess (long ago) was sent there by her father because a fortune teller told him that his daughter was going to die at age 18. So, in order to prevent any bad things from happening, he had his daughter/princess locked away in a tower to avoid any potential harm.

Well, as we all know by now, fortune tellers never lie. So on her 18th birthday, a supply boat arrived to the tower carrying food. And wouldn't you know it, hidden among the basket of grapes was a poisonous snake. With one delicious bite, the snake took the life of the princess.

That's only one version of the legend. There is another, more romantic version of the story, as told by the French - about a woman trapped in the tower because her father forbid her to marry her lover. And another version that claimed it was used as a prison. Who really knows?

But one thing is for sure, this 2500 year old landmark stood through the Ancient Greek period of the Archaic ages, the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. According to the historical brochure, "It is a symbol of loneliness, love and uniqueness and has been the subject to many poems, paintings and photographs through the years."

My mother and I had the opportunity to visit Kizkulesi on Sunday afternoon. It was an extremely windy day, but we enjoyed our 3 hour excursion to this historical landmark.

We took a ferry to the platform where the tower stands. The waves were particularly strong that day - so it was hard to capture a nice shot of the tower from the boat. Inside the tower, we discovered a romantic restaurant and quaint, tiny coffee shop near the top.

At the very top, we could see a spectacular view of the coast. My photos hardly do it justice - so I'd highly recommend checking out some rather gorgeous shots of the tower and restaurant here.