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360 ° Istanbul: Maiden’s Tower

2011-01-03T08:46:00.000-08:00

Some consider as mysterius and romantic, some do melancholic and gloomy. It hurts some people, because it is the place they dreamed themselseves together with the lover. Sometime it becomes a subject to a song, sometimes it is just a building. whatever it is a symbol of Istanbul and Bosphorus. A place for lovers. A Little house on the sea..

Maiden's Tower
www.kizkulesi.com.tr

The Maiden's Tower (Turkish: Kız Kulesi), also known in the ancient Greek and medieval Byzantine periods as Leander's Tower (Tower of Leandros), sits on a small islet located at the southern entrance of Bosphorus strait 200 m (220 yd) off the coast of Üsküdar in Istanbul, Turkey

History

Maiden's Tower was first built by the ancient Athenian general Alcibiades in 408 BC to control the movements of the Persian ships in the Bosphorus strait.Tower was later enlarged and rebuilt as a fortress by the Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus in 1110 AD, and was restored and slightly modified several times by the Ottoman Turks. The most recent facelift was made in 1998. Steel supports were added around the ancient tower as a precaution after the 17 August 1999 earthquake.

On a hazy day
by Seha İslam

Legends

The Legend of Admiral Hares
One of the oldest stories about tower set in byzantion period which byzantion was under reign of Atina Kingdom. Acoording to this rumor, Atina kingdom sent a navy to byzantion consisting of 40 pieces under the command of admiral Hares to protect byzantion againist to probability of an attack by the king Philip of Macedonia. When Damalys who was admiral Hero’s one and only wife died, Admiral Hero buried her at the rocky field on tower’s location.

The Princess Legend

Once upon a time, a soothsayer makes the prediction to the King that his daughter will die as a result of a snakebite. Thereupon, the King has a castle built in the sea in order to protect his daughter. Time passes and the girl grows up in the castle. However, the prediction made by the soothsayer was inevitably comes true as a snake hiding a fruit basket carried to the princess bites and kills her.

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The Legend of Leandros
The older name Leander's Tower comes from another story about a maiden: the ancient Greek myth of Hero and Leander. Hero was a priestess of Aphrodite who lived in a tower at Sestos, at the edge of the Hellespont (Dardanelles). Leander (Leandros), a young man from Abydos on the other side of the strait, fell in love with her and would swim every night across the Hellespont to be with her. Hero would light a lamp every night at the top of her tower to guide his way.
Succumbing to Leander's soft words, and to his argument that Aphrodite, as goddess of love, would scorn the worship of a virgin, Hero allowed him to make love to her. This routine lasted through the warm summer. But one stormy winter night, the waves tossed Leander in the sea and the breezes blew out Hero's light, and Leander lost his way, and was drowned. Hero threw herself from the tower in grief and died as well. The name Maiden's Tower might also have its origins in this ancient story.
Due to the vicinity and similarity between the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, Leander's story was attributed to the tower by the ancient Greeks and later the Byzantines.

Present
The Maiden’s Tower has been used for many different purposes over time, such as a tax collection area from merchantman, a defense tower, and a lighthouse. During the cholera epidemic in 1830, it was used as a quarantine hospital and radio station. During the Republic Period, it was again used as a light house for a little while. The tower was handed over to the Ministry of Defence in 1964 and then to Maritime Enterprises in 1982. It has undergone renovations and presently functions as a restaurant open to the public with an excellent view of the former Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman capital owned by a private company. Private boats make trips to the tower several times a day.

An irony; At least 6 marriage proposal in a week
The Maiden’s tower has a 2500 years mysterious history. İt is at the intersection point of asia and europe continents, in the middle of bosphorus. You can see Sultanahmet mosque, hagia sophia, Galata tower, Çırağan palace, Üsküdar and Ortaköy coasts from tower. Whlile you are eating a romantic diner, you can listen to slow music. This romance costs for a couple avarege 220 ytl, include a bottle of wine. although the Maiden’s tower is a symbol of not being able to come together, at least 6 marriage proposals in a week occur in the place.

Love you far away: most beautiful kind of love
Although it has a fascinating view, acoording to Sunay Akın who is a famous turkish poet ,The Maiden’s tower is the worst place to view istanbul. Because, the only place you can never see The maiden’s tower is the maiden’s tower. Rather than visiting the maiden’s tower, to view it from the coast of salacak (Üsküdar) and to be photographed as it is in the backround is more greatful and a ritual for the people who visits İstanbul.

music by Tuluyhan Uğurlu

Daha Büyük Haritayı Görüntüle

.kmz file for google earth:

http://rapidshare.com/files/440581468/Maiden_s_Tower.kmz

a 360 degree panaromic photo:

http://www.360tr.com/34_istanbul/kizkulesi/

resources:

http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C4%B1z_Kulesi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maiden's_Tower

www.kizkulesi.com.tr

http://www.sxc.hu/

www.eksisozluk.com

Love and Genius: Sultana Mihrimah Mosques

2010-12-20T17:53:00.000-08:00

I'm like a man who is walking at very far away
Like a dream passes from too far away

Rumi (Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi)

Sinan ’the architect’ was assumed to be aimless while he was standing on balcony of the galata tower. He was looking at the horizon and it was obvious that he was sad and confused. Sultana mihrimah had asked him for building a mosque for her. But sinan was planing to build two mosques..

There are two special mosques in İstanbul which were built in 16. century and express onthly fellings of human being. If there is something certain about these structures, it is that they made her fell special: Sultana Mihrimah..

Sultana Mihrimah was the doughter of Sultan Suleiman”the magnificant”. She was born on march 21, the day which daytime and night are equal, the equinox. Probably therefore she was named as mihrimah which means ‘sun’ and ‘moon’(mihr-i mah) in Persian.

Sultana Mihrimah

Because of her legendary beauty, many people wanted to marry to her when she grow up and become a young lady. She got married with Pasha Rüstem who was the governor of the Diyarbakır. It is said that he had a low reputation so this marriage was a political decision.

After years, Sultana Mihrimah invited Sinan ’the architect’ to the palace and told her wish about to make a mosque built. Sinan was the most sophisticated and famous architect at that time. However he is still so at present. She put the preference of location to Sinan’s choice.

Suleiman 'the magnificent'

A Female Mosque

Sinan decided to built the mosque on east coast of bosphorus,in üsküdar/istanbul. He began to built in 1540 and finished in 1548.

Sultana Mihrimah Mosque/Üsküdar

It is said that while Sinan was designing the mosque he inspired by a figure of ‘a woman wearing skirt’. It has two minarets.

Less is more, simple is spectacular

14 years later after Sinan fisihed the mosque, Sultana Mihrimah invited him to the palace again. She asked him for building an other mosque for her. Again sinan would chose the location. On the other hand some resources suggest that second mosque has been bulid in memory of her after Sultana Mihrimah’s death.

At This time, Sinan chose the location on west coast of İstanbul, in Edirnekapı. He build a simple and unpretentious mosque befitting the pure and royal beauty of Sultana Mihrimah. He made the mosque very bright by putting 161 windows on it.

Sultana Mihrimah Mosque/ Edirnekapı

It is said that he figured Sultana Mihrimah’s hair down to her waist on pendants of dome and engravings on minaret. He build the mosque with single minaret.

By the way, Sinan build a mosque for Pasha Rüstem (sultana mihrimah’s husband) too. They say Sinan build the first ‘apartment mosque’ for pasha rustem.

Pasha Rüstem Mosque

In contrast to others it was dark. Pasha rüstem didn’t like it and sneak it to the Sultan Suleiman. It is sad that Sinan equiped the mosque with most beaituful ‘çini’ ceramics and engravings to appease the event.

Dance of the sun and moon

Besides the architectural features of mosques, Sinan loaded a miraculous astronomic attribute to the mosques. For a few days in sping mounths , while the sun goes down behind the mosque in west coast, moon rises between two minarets of mosque on east coast. (remember mihr-i mah: sun and moon)

The world is created by love, not stone

Another amazing issue appears if you join two locations with bird’s eye wiew on google earth. In the middle of the line you can find Galata Mevlevi House (Galata mevlevihanesi). Mevlevi way comes from Rumi (mevlana jelaluddin rumi). Rumi’s way is the way of love. Galata mevlevi house may sembolize love in this story..

The Line Joining Two Mosques

Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi

A Sema Ritual in Galata Mevlevi House

200 meters below the middle of the line, there is Galata tower. You can see both two mosques on the tower.

Galata Tower by Bekir Kurt

The man who writes poems with buildings: Sinan ’the architect’

Eventhough historians suggest there is no evidence for this love, it is said that Sinan ’the architect’ felt in a platonic love with Sultana Mihrimah. Even it is said that Sinan wanted to marry to her but Sultan Suleiman ’the magneficant’ didn’t accept this mariage because of Sinan was old and married.( when Sultana Mihrimah got married Sinan was 50 years old and according to tradition, the men at that time could marry more than once). They say the reason for he build second mosque with single minaret was to symbolize his loneliness.

Sinan 'the architect' (Mimar Sinan)

In spite of everthing, in my opinion Sinan’the architect’ wrote a poem with structures. A love poem. Maybe his love, maybe another’s..