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Having set the record straight, here
is the original version of Hero and
Leander.A young man named Leander
living in the city of Abydos on the
southern shore of Canakkale Strait
fell in love with the beautiful
priestess Hero, and she was with
him.Since she was forbidden to
marry, Leander visited her secretely
every night, swimming across the
strait from Abydos to Sestos where
Hero lived.So that Leander could
find his way in the darkness, Hero
carried a torch up to the top of the
tower where she lived each night and
waited until he arrived. But one
stormy night torrential rain
extinguished the torch in Hero's
hand, and unable to find the right
direction, Leander was eventually
exhausted by the waves and
drowned.At down the next morning
Hero saw Leander's ragged shirt in
the sea and threw herself into the
water.So the two lovers were united
at last in death.Many myths and
legends bear a similiar resemblance
to others, the location changing
while the story remain the same
Another story concerning the tower,
according to which a Byzantine
fortune teller predicted that the
beautiful daughter of the Emperor
Constantine would be killed by a
snake bite.Her father first
concealed his daughter ina coffin at
Hagia Sofia, and then had this tower
built for her to live in.However, a
poisonous snake concealed in a
basket of grapes sent to her caused
the girl's death.In some versions of
the story the emperor becomes a
sultan, and the 17th century Turkish
writer Evliya Celebi relates a
version whose heroes are Battal Gazi
and the Byzantine emperor
Now let us turn from legend to
fact.The Byzantine emperor Manuel
Comnene(1143-1180)had two towers
built, one on the shore near where
Topkapi Palace was later
constructed, and the other where the
Maiden's Tower stands today.Chains
were drawn across the mouth of the
strait between these two towers when
Istanbul was atttacted by enemy
fleets
The original tower was rebuilt after
Sultan Mehmed II conquered Istanbul
in 1453.This structure undervent
various changes over the centuries
as a result of repairs and fires,
and was extensively renovated during
the reign of Mahmud II when it took
the form we see today
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