Day 23
A road trip to Kiskalesi turned into a pretty cool adventure. We went to the beach and from a distance I could see the Maiden and King Castles. They were spectacular to look at. We could have paddled out to the Maiden’s castle but I needed to save the lira (Turkish currency) for the Cafe Rain.
In this post, I want to focus on the two castles and the folklore surrounding them.
The Maiden's Castle
There are several stories surrounding the Maiden’s Castle. The most popular is as follows…
The King loved his daughter and wanted her to marry well. She, however, followed her heart and fell in love with a common man. To prevent their union, the King built a castle in the sea where he kept his daughter. Some of the tales go on to say how the valiant young commoner fought through the waves, only to die in her arms at the land’s edge. Other versions of this story say both died from grief and the King had no heirs. Tragic.
Another tale surrounds prophecy. In it the daughter is fated to die tragically by her 17th (some say 16th) birthday. So, to save his daughter, the King built her in a castle in the sea surrounded by his most trusted guard. All food was checked and there was no expense spared for her safety. On her 17th birthday, a snake (which had been sleeping soundly in a basket of apples), bit her and she died. The King had no heirs. Tragic.
The King's Castle, Kiskalesi
Either way it gets my imagination going! LOL. The water was crystal blue and warm. You can swim to the maiden’s castle but there was para sailing going on…and I wasn’t too sure they’d pay attention to anyone in the water.
Sometimes you just see things here that you’ve never seen anywhere else. The bread guy was one of them. He walked around the beach selling bread. Just bread. Stacked neatly on a tray sitting on his head. There were Chinese tea sellers and Vodka shot sellers as well. I snapped this shot while he was walking up the beach.
Bread for sell!
Tomorrow I’ll show more pics and tell a few more stories.
Happy birthday Brannum!
Peace, I’m out!