Hello!

While there is no opportunity to go on a new journey, you can remember the trips that took place not so long ago …

Some time ago, my husband and I visited Turkey, Istanbul. And a few months later — in Azerbaijan, in Baku.

Two mentally, culturally and linguistically close countries… Two ancient stunning cities with a rich history… And each city has its own Maiden’s Tower, shrouded in a trail of centuries-long legends…

We first ended up in Istanbul. Naturally, we could not miss a boat trip along the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn. The tour guide spoke Russian very poorly, with a heavy accent. We quickly stopped trying to understand his speech, and just admired the views from the water. And — here it is, the Maiden’s Tower!

Istanbul Maiden Tower — Kyz Kulyasi

Maiden Tower in Istanbul. Photo taken from the boat. Photo from personal archive. Maiden Tower in Istanbul. Photo taken from the boat. Photo from personal archive. Close-up photo. Maiden’s Tower, Istanbul. Photo and personal archive. Close-up photo. Maiden’s Tower, Istanbul. Photo and personal archive.

I already wrote that, having a decent SLR camera, I never learned how to take pictures properly. I shoot in automatic modes, and very often beautiful views turn out to be so-so …

But now we are getting closer to the Maiden’s Tower, and it can already be shot without zoom:

Istanbul. Maiden’s Tower. Photo from personal archive. Istanbul. Maiden’s Tower. Photo from personal archive.

The first mention of a tower on a small island dates back to 1453. Then this wooden structure was burned down, and in 1720 a stone tower was erected instead.

There are two legends about the tower. According to the first, the beautiful Hero, the priestess of Artemis, lived in the tower, to whom her lover would swim every evening through the Bosphorus. To make it easier for him to swim, the girl lit a lantern every evening. But one day the lantern did not flare up in any way, and the young man could not overcome the waves, he drowned. The girl from desperation asked to go into the water. By the way, the young man’s name was Leander. Therefore, the tower is also known as the Leander Tower.

According to the second legend, the Turkish Sultan imprisoned his daughter in the tower to protect her from snakes. Since the girl was predicted that she would die on the day of her eighteenth birthday from a snake bite. And there has never been a single snake on the island. But the girl still died from a snake bite: the reptile crawled out of a basket of flowers, which was brought to the girl on her birthday.

Today, the tower houses a restaurant with traditional Turkish and European cuisine and a cafeteria. The main advantage of the institution is the beautiful views from the circular observation deck at the top of the tower. But we were not inside. Our tour did not involve stopping, and we just sailed past.

Baku Maiden Tower – Giz galasy

Turkish and Azerbaijani languages ​​are very similar. Most Turks and Azerbaijanis understand each other quite well. In my opinion, the Turkish language is softer, and the Azerbaijani language is clearer, more guttural.

So the names of the towers sound very similar: Kyz kulyasi and Giz galasy. Kyz (or Gyz) means «girl».

The Baku Maiden Tower is much older. Scientists are still arguing about its exact age, but, most likely, the structure is at least 900 years old.

The tower is one of the main elements of the Old City (Icheri Sheher), surrounded by a fortress wall. By the way, the purpose of this tower is also unclear. For defense, it is not suitable, since it has no windows. Only tiny windows in the area of ​​​​the spiral staircase, and from them the view opens not down, but up — to the sky. Review — none. So, for what purpose this grandiose building at that time was erected is not clear.

Inside the Maiden’s Tower is now a small museum. And at the top — an observation deck, surrounded by protective glass. The deck offers stunning views of the city. For example:

View of the city from the Maiden’s Tower. Photo from personal archive. View of the city from the Maiden’s Tower. Photo from personal archive.

Inside the tower there are several tiers connected by a single narrow spiral staircase cut through the thickness of the walls. Each tier is designed as a museum hall. There are interesting interactive features with which you can get acquainted with the history of both the tower itself and Baku.

Panorama of Baku on one of the tiers of the tower. Photo from personal archive. Panorama of Baku on one of the tiers of the tower. Photo from personal archive. Staircase leading up. There are only a few of these tiny windows in the entire tower. Photo from personal archive. Staircase leading up. There are only a few of these tiny windows in the entire tower. Photo from personal archive.

If you look at the tower from above, it will resemble the number «9». Or the famous oriental «cucumber» — a classic pattern of oriental fabrics. Some Azerbaijani women even claim that it was thanks to the unique shape of the Maiden Tower that this pattern for fabrics was born.

By the way, inside the tower there is a well with a depth of more than 20 m, and there is still, they say, there is drinking water.

The Baku Maiden Tower is also shrouded in many legends. According to one of them, a rich nobleman fell in love with his own daughter and wanted to take her as his wife. The girl was against it, and hid in an impregnable, as it seemed to her, fortress. But the groom, who is also the father, did not back down, and entered the tower. Then the girl threw herself into the sea right from the top of the tower. According to the legend, the sea then reached the foot of the tower. Now it is probably 150-200 meters to the Caspian coast. The sea receded…

But on the lower part of the fortress there are characteristic traces that suggest that water reached this level.

There is also a legend that at the foot of the Maiden’s Tower in the first millennium of our era, one of the apostles of Christ, Saint Bartholomew, was executed. He brought Christianity to the people, but people were not ready to accept him.

If we compare the two Maiden Towers — Istanbul and Baku, then personally I am more impressed with the Baku one. Maybe it’s just more dear to me, because I was born and raised in Baku, and as a child I went up to the observation deck with my grandfather more than once to look at the sea and the city. But life is interesting and unpredictable, and now I live in a Siberian village. I sometimes joke: yes, I live in the south again. But, true, in the south of Siberia.

And which of the Maiden Towers impressed you more?