Burj Dokhtar (Turkish: Kiz Küllesi) is very popular and if you are a fan of Turkish TV series, you have probably seen it in movies. Various stories are told about this small historical and mysterious tower. Because this tower has had different uses over the years. According to historical documents and scientific research, the castle was built in 24 BC, and it is certain that when the building is so old, there will be different narratives of the stories that took place there. Of course, the building was destroyed several times and even caught fire once during the Ottoman period. In 2002, the building was completely renovated and a restaurant was added. The Girl Tower has been used in Turkish history as an exile, lighthouse, army depot, cyanide storage, radar station, customs, and a place for paying ships' taxes and duties. The hitman film has shot two series of James Bond films, namely The World Is Not Enough and From Russia with Love, the American television program The Amazing Race, the Turkish series Kurtlar Vadisi (Wolf Valley) and ... in this place. In addition, some scenes from the video game Assassin's Creed: Revelations also take place in the simulated space of the Girl Tower.
Burj Dokhtar (Turkish: Kiz Küllesi) is very popular and if you are a fan of Turkish TV series, you have probably seen it in movies. Various stories are told about this small historical and mysterious tower. Because this tower has had different uses over the years. According to historical documents and scientific research, the castle was built in 24 BC, and it is certain that when the building is so old, there will be different narratives of the stories that took place there. Of course, the building was destroyed several times and even caught fire once during the Ottoman period. In 2002, the building was completely renovated and a restaurant was added.
The Girl Tower has been used in Turkish history as an exile, lighthouse, army depot, cyanide storage, radar station, customs, and a place for paying ships' taxes and duties. The hitman film has shot two series of James Bond films, namely The World Is Not Enough and From Russia with Love, the American television program The Amazing Race, the Turkish series Kurtlar Vadisi (Wolf Valley) and ... in this place. In addition, some scenes from the video game Assassin's Creed: Revelations also take place in the simulated space of the Girl Tower.
The Legend of the Princess Snake Bite
Legend has it that the girl was enchanted and died at the age of 18 from a snake bite. The king, who was very upset about this, sent his daughter to this tower so that she could grow up there and not be in danger of losing the spell. When the princess turned 18, the king celebrated her birthday. Among the gifts was a basket in which a poisonous snake was hiding and biting the princess, and she died at the same age.
Legend of Escape with the King's Daughter
This legend is about the daughter of the ruler of Oskudar during the reign of Sultan Bayazid. A man falls in love with this girl and the ruler, who does not agree with this connection, deports his daughter to this tower so that no one has any contact with her. Eventually, the beloved lover attacks the tower very soon and escapes with the girl. Based on this story, a proverb was created in Turkish that says: One who acts without shaking hands and procrastinating, achieves his goal.
The legend of drowned love
There is a painful story about a boy in love who swims from beach to tower every night to see his mistress in the tower. Every night, the lover would hold a torch on top of the tower so that the young boy could find his way through the waters of the Black Sea and Marmara. One night in a storm the torch goes out and the boy loses his way. The next day, the body of the unfortunate young man is found. The girl commits suicide after seeing the body. The boy's name was Linders, which is why the tower has long been known as Linders.
The legend of the painful admiral
One of the stories is related to the Byzantine era. The king of Athens is said to have sent 40 ships under the command of Admiral Hars to counter the possible attack of the king of Macedonia on the Bosphorus. In this mission, the admiral's wife dies and he is severely beaten. Hars leaves the mission, takes his wife's body to this small island and buries her among the rocks.
How do I see the tower?
Aside from all the legends about the Girl's Tower, it must be admitted that it is now an ancient city symbol for Istanbul, especially the Escudar district. The Girl's Tower has always been like a lighthouse, a guide to saving lives, property and love over the years, from Roman times to the present day. To visit the castle, you must take a short sea voyage. You can easily find boats going to Dokhtar Castle in Kabatash or Salajak Beach in Skudar in the Asian part. It only takes a few minutes to reach this amazing little island and historic tower. The tower is located 202 meters from the beach.
Other attractions of the island
There is a restaurant in this old castle that serves Turkish food; They also built a cafe upstairs. If you reach the beach of Salajak at sunset, you will get a very spectacular view of the tower and the background of the European part of Istanbul. If you go to the tower, you will have a 360-degree view of Istanbul, Europe and Asia. There is also a free museum in the complex which is fun to see. On the island you can sit on stair chairs with Turkish design backs and watch the sea. Serve yourself with tea, coffee, cotton wool, simit and Turkish hookah.