Historically speaking, the rocks with the tower on top were first mentioned in 411 B.C.. when the Athenian king wanted to build a customs station here after the war between Athens and Sparta. Byzantine Emperor Manuel Comnenus I had the tirst defense tower was erected __ here in the 12"- century; Sultan Mehmed "■ the Conqueror had this tower destroyed after the conquest of Constantinople and had a new one built in its place.
There are many legends about the tower, the one in Turkish literature is this: A prophet tells a young princess that she is going to be killed by a snake, whereby her father has this tower built, where snakes cannot get to her and imprisons his daughter there. Alas, a snake arrives at the tower in a grape basket and bites the girl. The tower is also known as Leander's Tower. This name comes from Leandros, who swims across the Dardanelle Straits every night to see his lover Hero.
During the Byzantine period, it was used as a customs house as well as a traffic, station to prevent unauthorized
transit shipping. It served as a lighthouse in the Ottoman period to guide shipping, an assistance base for boats caught in storms, a site for ceremonial cannons as well as a quarantine hospital during the cholera epidemic of the 1830's. Having overcome fires and earthquakes, the tower has had several repairs. Today's tower must be from the Mahmud
II period whereas it has only been used as a lighthouse during
the Republican era. Motor skiffs depart hourly from Uskudar to the tower, which was restored in 2000. Today, it is a restaurant where you can dine while listening to live music and enjoying the unique Bosphorus view.
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