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The Maiden Tower ((アゼルバイジャン語:Qız Qalası)), also known locally as Giz Galasi, located in the Old City, Baku, in Azerbaijan, was built in the 12th century as part of the walled city. Together with the Shirvanshahs' Palace, dated to the 15th century, it forms an ensemble of historic monuments inscribed in 2001 under the UNESCO World Heritage List of Historical Monuments as cultural property, Category III. It is one of Azerbaijan's most distinctive national emblems, and is thus featured on Azeri currency notes and official letterheads. The Maiden Tower houses a museum, which presents the story of historic evolution of the Baku city. It also has a gift shop. The view from the roof takes in the alleys and minarets of the Old City, the Baku Boulevard, the De Gaulle house and a wide vista of the Baku Bay. In recent years, the brazier on the top has been lit during the nights of the Novruz festival.〔 Consequent to the receding of the sea shore line of the Caspian Sea, a strip of land emerged. This land was developed between the 9th and 15th centuries, when the walls of the old city, the palace including the huge bastion of the Maiden Tower were built. ==History== There are a number of competing explanations for the name, the most prominent of which is the legend of a maiden (said to be the daughter of the Khan of Baku) who threw herself off its top to her death in the waves below. In some sources she is said to be the sister, rather than the daughter, of the king who came to be incarcerated by her brother. To escape from the ignominy of incarceration, she jumped to her death from the top of the tower. Another explanation for the name is testament to the fact that the tower has never been taken by force (hence a metaphorical reference to 'virginity') and the fact that some believe that it was once a Watch Tower (Göz Qalası ) which can account for its name. The Maiden Tower set in the south-east part of Icheri Sheher, has mystique and hoary history and legends that are linked to two periods, though not conclusively established. The area was first settled in the Palaeolithic period. Sara Ashurbeyli, a prominent historian and expert in the history of Baku has calculated that the tower foundations, which extend 15 metres below ground level and the bottom three stories above ground, were originally built between the 4th and 6th centuries CE and points out the marked difference in the stone used in the tower compared to the stone used in the medieval city surrounding it. This conclusion is partly supported by historian Bretanitskiy who has postulated that the tower was partly built in the 5th to 6th centuries and then later in the 12th century.〔 The site was believed to have been used originally during the Sasanid era as a Zoroastrian temple.,〔(Avesta. History of Zoroastrism )〕 An inscription located 14 metres high on the south wall which in old Kufic script mentions Qubbeye Masud ibn Davud or Kubey Mesud ibn Da’ud, an architect active during the 12th century; he is the father of the architect who built the Mardakan Round Tower.〔Ашурбейли Сара. История города Баку: период средневековья. Баку, Азернешр, 1992, p. 149〕 However it is disputed as the inscription, unlike the Madakan Tower does not actually reveal him to have been the architect, although it is generally agreed that much of the modern tower dates back to the 12th century.〔 Prof. Ahmadov believes that the tower was used as an astronomical observatory from the time of this reconstruction, due to the fact that 30 hewed stone protuberances on the tower's lower section and the 31 protuberances on the upper section, linked with a stone belt, correlate to the days of the month.〔 According to recent archaeological excavations, carried out in 1962–63 on the ground floor of the tunnel, the tower was built on a large rock sloping toward the sea, and the buttress structure projecting out from the main tower provided stability to the tower. Further excavations have also revealed wooden girders, each high, at the foundation of the tower. This has been inferred as an earthquake resistant design. It has also been conjectured that the cylindrical shape of the tower with thick base walls tapering to ( is also mentioned) provided the solid foundation on which it has survived over the centuries. It is also mentioned that the tower was built at one go and not at different times as inferred by other scholars. The tower and other wall structures now under the UNESCO list were strengthened during the Russian rule in 1806 and have survived.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Walled City of Baku )〕 The Maiden Tower is depicted on the obverse of the Azerbaijani 1 to 250 manat banknotes of 1992–2006,〔(Central Bank of Azerbaijan ). National currency: (1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 250 manat ). – Retrieved on 25 February 2010.〕 and of the 10 manat banknote issued since 2006,〔(Central Bank of Azerbaijan ). National currency: (10 manat ). – Retrieved on 25 February 2010.〕 as well as on the reverse of the Azerbaijani 5 qəpik coin minted since 2006.〔(Central Bank of Azerbaijan ). National currency: (New generation coins ). – Retrieved on 25 February 2010.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Maiden Tower (Baku)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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