Maiden's Tower

Istanbul · Turkiet · Lighthouse

An emperor's daughter was locked in the tower to escape a prophesied snakebite — but death arrived anyway, hidden in a basket of fruit.

The small tower on a rocky islet where the Bosphorus meets the Sea of Marmara has guarded the strait since antiquity as lighthouse, quarantine station and customs post. In its best-loved legend, an oracle foretold that the emperor's daughter would die of a snakebite on her eighteenth birthday, so her father shut her away in the tower amid the waters. On her birthday he sent out a basket of fruit as a gift — and from it slid the snake that fulfilled the prophecy. The tale gave the tower its name, the Maiden's Tower, and is retold nightly to visitors who take the boat out to today's restaurant and viewing tower.

FAQ

Where is Maiden's Tower located?

Maiden's Tower is in Istanbul, Turkiet.

More haunted places in Istanbul