Something About the Aydos Kalesi

The old stone fort, it ain't what it used to be....

I've often wondered what sights Johnny, Fergie, and Professor Childermass saw from holding on for dear life to the tiny tabergan. I've also wondered what sort of grip was attached to the little brass instrument because when you're moving above the Sea of Marmara you don't want to suddenly slip off and swim with the fishes. Not mumtāz.

As the trio flew out to Maiden's Tower to go home, did they look out across the Bosphorus to the east and did anything catch their eye? Surely they could see Aydos Hill, the highest point in Istanbul, with the Aydos Kalesi, or castle. The fortress was built in the first half of 6th Century by the Roman Empire. Castles.nl tells this story:

Legend has it that the daughter of the Byzantine lord of Aydos Castle had a dream in which a handsome man rescued her after which she fell in love with that man. Later, when the Ottomans besieged the castle, she recognized Abdurrahman as the man of her dreams. She then sent him a letter in which she asked him to feign a retreat but to return in the night and that she would let him inside the castle. Thus happened and so the Ottomans took the castle.

Another fun little fact: aydos comes from the Latin word aetos, meaning “eagle".  And flying like an eagle was what the tabergan allowed.

I really need to see if I can find one for the grandkids.