force his daughter to marry a man she doesn't love, which she escapes by asking her father to first build a tower for her, and when it is finished committing suicide by jumping from the top of it has been the subject of many Azerbaijani poems and plays. The ballet titled “Maiden Tower", was the first Azerbaijani ballet composed by Afrasiyyab Badalbayli, in 1940. This ballet is performed at Baku's Opera and Ballet Theatre. However, the storyline is a modified version of the legend. According to the modified version of the Ballet, the king on his return from his war campaign found that his wife had given birth to a daughter instead of a son. He became furious and ordered the killing of his baby daughter. However, the baby's nanny took her away to a secret place where she grew up to a beautiful lady. At age seventeen she got engaged to a lover. At this juncture, the king chanced to see her, wanted to marry her and therefore took her away and kept her in the Maiden Tower. The girl's lover was furious with this turn of events and he managed to kill the king. He then ran to the Maiden Tower to rescue his lover. However, when the girl heard the sound of footsteps approaching the tower, she thought that it was the king coming to see her and she immediately committed suicide by jumping down from the tower. As of 2011, the tower also participates in "Earth Hour," a campaign against climate change in which large buildings "go dark" for an hour to draw awareness to the cause. Picture gallery See also Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape Fire Temple of Baku List of World Heritage Sites in Azerbaijan References External links Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower UNESCO collection on Google Arts and Culture Secrets of the Maiden Tower. Azerbaijan International (Autumn 2006) Baku's Maiden Tower from Azerbaijan International The Legend Of Baku Maiden Tower (Zoroastrian legends) Buildings and structures in Baku Towers in Azerbaijan World Heritage Sites in Azerbaijan Tourist attractions in Baku Monuments and memorials in Azerbaijan National symbols of Azerbaijan Castles and fortresses in Azerbaijan Icherisheher