Maiden's Tower

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This article is about the location. You may be looking for The Maiden's Tower.

The Maiden's Tower, also known during ancient Greek and medieval Byzantine periods as the Tower of Leandros, was a lighthouse. It sits on a small islet located at the southern entrance of Bosphorus strait off the coast of Üsküdar in Constantinople.

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. Back then the tower was located between the ancient cities of Byzantion and Chrysopolis. The 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, most significantly in 1509 and 1763.

Niccolò Polo had a complex structure built beneath the Maiden's Tower to hide the fourth Masyaf Key. In 1511, Ezio Auditore da Firenze sailed to the Maiden's Tower and worked out its secrets, gaining the Key in the process.

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. The interior of the tower has been transformed into a popular café and restaurant, with an excellent view of the former Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman capital. Private boats make trips to the tower several times a day.

Gallery

• Maiden's Tower in 1511.
  Maiden's Tower in 1511.
• 
  Maiden's Tower at dawn,
• Maiden's Tower with Constantinople in the background.
  Maiden's Tower with Constantinople in the background.

Source

• Assassin's Creed: Revelations