Legends passed on by word of mouth
The Legend of Mahsen
from Uçhisar, Cappadocia

The Legend of Mahsen

Once upon a time, there was a rich man living in the Castle of Uçhisar*. His daughter was a beautiful young girl who lived a happy but lonely life with her father inside the cold walls of the Ağa’nın Kale. Her name was Mahsen.

One day, there came to the village a peddler from Ürgüp with his camel, selling the finest embroidery, colourful ribbons, scarves and shawls, all the things a young woman loves.“Scarves and shawls. Only the finest material. Come and see! Scarves and shawls.” Mahsen looked up from her work when she heard his voice and her eyes started to glow.  She didn’t want to miss this rare chance for such a pleasant diversion from her dreary existence. She jumped up from her cushion, left the fine embroidery she was working on, and ran to see the peddler’s goods, rushing through caves and tunnels, through cold rooms and down the steps.The young man who had been hawking his goods beneath Mahsen's window, was just ready to leave, when she called out: “You! Wait! I want to see what you have in the camel’s bags.” He smiled and slowly turned around, and she saw his face. In his dark, friendly eyes, there was a look of wonder. His lips opened slightly, and he caught his breath as if surprise had immediately overwhelmed him on seeing such a beautiful woman. Mahsen, as if being able to read his thoughts, was instantly struck by her own emotional response as she felt her heart warm from within.

Surprised by these previously unknown feelings, Mahsen nervously fingered the ribbons and was unable to meet his gaze. She grabbed something she did not even look at, paid for it, and returned to her room. It was a red ribbon, and from that moment on she kept it as her favourite and secret treasure. From the very first moment Mahsen had seen the young hawker she had fallen in love and a voice from inside told her that he felt the same for her.

Still, Mahsen tried hard to forget him.  She knew her father had other plans for his only daughter, but although she tried hard not to think of him, she could not resist her desire. In her mind she was always with him. When she closed her eyes she felt his arms around her and the warmth of his love. Then, one day, she forgot about her fear and decided to follow her heart.Whenever there was an opportunity for her to escape her father's supervision, she left the kale and met the young man. The young couple had to meet in secret, and always with the fear of being caught by Mahsen’s severe father. Soon her father did began to notice a change in his daughter’s expression and behaviour. When he questioned her, Mahsen bowed her head. She tried to avoid his piercing look and did not answer, which made her father even angrier. In his helplessness he started shouting and yelling, grabbing her arm very hard. Then he imprisoned Mahsen in her room. “Here you will stay forever.” Before he locked the heavy wooden door, he hissed:  “Do you hear me? Forever!” After the sound of his heavy footsteps died away, all was quiet for a very long time.

Mahsen, now sitting within the cold walls of her prison, cried with deep sadness. Every moment she expected the door to be opened, but her father did not come back to set her free. He knew no mercy, but her longing for the young man became stronger and stronger with each day that they were apart.The days and months passed, and Mahsen was alone with only the pigeons who came to sit on the windowsill for companionship. They were the only creatures she could tell her fate to, so she started talking to them. The pigeons, sharing her feeling of sadness, came back every day, and every day she talked about the young man she loved so deeply. Then the unbelievable happened.Mahsen turned into a pigeon herself, and, free at last, she soared up into the air, flying away to her lover’s arms. Soon the beautiful bird got tired and had to rest, so she sat down on the Rock of Ortahisar**. Not wanting to waste time, her yearning for her lover gave her strength, and she flew further on without a break, until she reached Başhisar*** and the young man who was waiting for her. There, in his arms, she again became his beloved Mahsen.Every day after she had met her love, the girl changed once again into a pigeon and flew back to her prison before darkness fell, changing back into the beautiful young woman again.

One day her father came to her room and found it empty. His thoughts whirled around in his head. No, it was not possible that his daughter could have escaped without his knowledge. All the doors were locked and the window was too high for her to escape from it. Still, Mahsen was not there.

The father clenched his fist and his face hardened. He needed to find out what was going on, and, talking to himself he mumbled: " I swear I will find out, whatever has happened here!”All day he watched from his window, desperately trying to see his daughter. There he sat until, in the evening, he heard a faint beating of wings. Following that sound in the twilight, he saw a beautiful white pigeon come flying to the window ledge and silently disappear into his daughter’s room. The father rushed through the corridors, unlocked the heavy wooden door and entered the room. Mahsen was back, sitting on a cushion, the embroidery on her knees, and working away quietly. But her heart was beating like the soft wings of a butterfly and her cheeks were still coloured rosy from passion. Baffled, the father shook his head and looked at his daughter hopelessly. Then he stepped back, left Mahsen's chamber and carefully locked the door again. With dragging feet he left.

After her father left, Mahsen smiled softly. The next morning, the white pigeon again flew out of the window, leaving the room quiet and empty once again.Every day the pigeon flew away in the morning and came back in the evening. Each evening, when her father entered Mahsen's room, he found her sitting there on her cushion, doing her embroidery, always with the same, dreamy smile.

The father did not know what to do any more. He was aware that his daughter was deceiving him but he could not believe what he had seen with his own eyes.

Then one day, he decided that he had to bring this deception to an end. Furiously he rushed into Mahsen's room and paced impatiently waiting for her to return. Hour after hour passed, but when the sun disappeared behind the Ağa Castle, the beautiful white pigeon came flying in through the window. In the next moment, the bird was dead. Mahsen had been killed by her own father.

The pigeons from all around came flying to the kale, to see what they could not at first believe. They went out and collected poisoned grain. In revenge for Mahsen’s wrongful death, they put the poison seeds onto the plate for what was to be her father’s last meal. Just before he died, his thoughts must have returned to his beautiful daughter in regret, and with his last breath he whispered her name, "Mahsen."

Since that day, all the pigeons of the Castle and the Valley of Uçhisar are in mourning, their sad “coo, coo, coo….” sounding everywhere.

*     Uçhisar      - Fortress at the edge**   Ortahisar    - Middle fortress (village nearby)*** Başhisar     - Fortress at the beginning (old name of Ürgüp)