Kiz Kulesi Restaurant, Istanbul

The Kiz Kulesi Restaurant is located in the Maidens Tower, a small tower on a tiny islet near the Asian shore of the Bosphorus Strait. It was built by a Byzantine emperor in the 12th century who confined his daughter on the islet after learning from a prophecy that his beloved child would die of snakebite. Despite this, she was eventually bitten by a snake that had been smuggled inside a basket of grapes from the mainland. In ancient times, it was used as a toll booth, a bastion, a customs control point and a lighthouse. However the tower has been restored and is now an international restaurant. Access is by boat.