Istanbul is a vast city that has witnessed hundreds of love stories throughout its history. Galata Tower and Maiden’s Tower, the city’s two most prominent structures, take center stage in this tale.
Galata Tower is a unique structure that dominates Istanbul, overlooking the entire city from above. Maiden’s Tower, on the other hand, is a solitary and enchanting structure on the Bosphorus that has become the focus of attention for the whole city. Although there are many legends about both, the most beautiful one is their love for each other.
The Maiden’s Tower was built by the Greeks in the 5th century BC. It has caused lovers to sit for years watching the Maiden’s Tower from Salacak Beach. As the Maiden’s Tower watched the lovers, it felt its own loneliness more and more…
One day, the Galata Tower rose before it in all its enchanting glory… It is estimated to have been built by the Romans in 507. At that moment, the Maiden’s Tower and the Galata Tower fell in love with each other in front of all of Istanbul. However, the vast Bosphorus Strait that stood between them made their love impossible.
The Maiden’s Tower was built by the Greeks in the 5th century BC. It has caused lovers to sit for years watching the Maiden’s Tower from Salacak Beach. As the Maiden’s Tower watched the lovers, it felt its own loneliness more and more…
One day, the Galata Tower rose before it in all its enchanting glory… It is estimated to have been built by the Romans in 507. At that moment, the Maiden’s Tower and the Galata Tower fell in love with each other in front of all of Istanbul. However, the vast Bosphorus Strait that stood between them made their love impossible.
The wind was so strong that the letters scattered all around the Bosphorus. Still, the Maiden’s Tower understood how deeply the Galata Tower loved her and expressed its love by singing songs with the seagulls. The impossible love now found its way to be reciprocated, and the two towers shone brighter day by day in Istanbul…
This legendary love has inspired generations and Istanbul itself.
Letters from the Maiden’s Tower to Galata
“So you’re Galata! ” I’m the Maiden’s Tower, pleased to meet you! You’re right! You and I are perfect for this tale. We are the enchanted beauties of this city. A thousand voices have struck your centuries-old walls. What do you mean? You and me? And this city too! The two of us make Istanbul the face of love, is that it? Don’t be crazy!”
Dawn was just breaking. The air was sparkling, the sun’s intensity uncertain, its light flickering… And before me stretched the unique view of the Marmara Sea, as far as the eye could see… That enchanting scent was in the air again. That scent that filled me with infinite peace.
Don’t say, “Can a city have its own scent?” Just as the peach flavor mother got from a cup of tea sometimes took her back to her childhood memories, a random scent suddenly draws me into the magic of a city.
This is a love story set in Istanbul. These are letters written from the Maiden’s Tower to Galata.
“The seagulls are flying to my shores again. The ferries play a sad serenade in my eyes. The pigeons of the New Mosque take flight from the squares of my heart, the minarets rise to your absence, the trams pass overhead. A broken-hearted tree stands in Mihrabat. The five letters of my name are carved on it! Like me, it has stopped the years in a time with you. Moonlight and Istanbul long for me at Üsküdar’s window. Just as I long for it. A fairy tale with the face of Istanbul awakens. Apples had fallen from the sky, after all.”
“Actually, he wasn’t in this love. He never was. I’m not even in this love anymore. This is the sad tale of these two towers, forgotten in dusty books. The Maiden’s Tower was a woman who adorned the Bosphorus like lace. She fell in love with the haughty Galata, which looked down on everything. Knowing there would be no return… Accepting that she could not go beyond loving, she laid her heart in the very middle of the Bosphorus. What could she do? That was her destiny. The Maiden’s Tower was doomed to burn with sorrow in the middle of a masterpiece.”
