Maiden's Tower

Kız Kulesi sits on a rock at the mouth of the Bosphorus a couple of hundred metres off Üsküdar, and something has stood there since antiquity - a toll point for ships, a watchtower, a lighthouse, at times a quarantine station and a customs post. The present tower is largely nineteenth-century with earlier fabric underneath, and it was fully restored and reopened in the 2020s. Two legends explain the name, both involving a princess shut in the tower to escape a prophecy and both ending badly, and neither has any historical basis; the Greek name Leandros attached a second, unrelated myth to the same rock. What visitors actually get is the crossing, a small exhibition on the tower's history, a café, and a viewing terrace that puts you in the middle of the strait with Sultanahmet's skyline on one side and the Asian shore on the other. It is at its best in the last hour of light.

What you actually see

• The islet tower - the restored building on its rock.
• The strait view - both shores from the terrace.
• The exhibition - the tower's uses across the centuries.
• The crossing - the short boat ride from Salacak.

When to go

April to June and September to October. Late afternoon for light on the old city; the boat runs to a schedule and stops in rough weather.

Honest expectations

Entry is ticketed and includes the boat, and slots fill in season. It is small - the tower is quickly seen. Crossings are cancelled when the Bosphorus is choppy.

Nearby

Üsküdar's mosques and the Salacak waterfront are on the Asian shore; Kadıköy is south along the coast.