Travel Guides: The Lighthouse In Alexandria

Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria (arabia-online.blogspot.com/)

The Lighthouse in Alexandria was built in the third century BC on the island of Pharos in Egypt. At first it was just a symbol of the port, but then it became a marker for sailors. The Lighthouse has a height between 115 and 135 meters and was the largest building made by man. Antipater of Sidon named it among the Seven Wonders of the World.

The Alexandria coast was too dangerous for ships passing through there, so it was born the idea of building something that leads the way to the port. In 290 BC, the King Ptolemaios began the construction of the lighthouse, which was completed after his death by his son Ptolemaios Philadelphus.

The lighthouse was built after the design of the architect Sostratus. The legend says that the king Ptolemaios would have denied Sostratus to put his name on the building, but Sostratus wrote on the base of the lighthouse: “I Sostratus son of Dexiphanes of Chinidai, offer this work to the Navigator Gods and people who travel the seas.” It was built of huge blocks of white marble and has three separate levels. The lighthouse had a square base and was 55.9 m high.

In the middle, the section of the lighthouse was octagonal, was hollow on the inside and had a height of 30 meters. From inside came out flames that shall never be quenched, both night and day lighting and making visible the way to the port. The top will form a circle, and was 7 feet high. It was said that the flame could be seen from 50-60 miles away.

Above the lighthouse was a statue. It is not known for sure whether it was the statue of Poseidon or Zeus. In 956 AC, an earthquake shook the lighthouse, but didn’t make great damage. Then in 1303 and 1323 two major earthquakes destroyed the lighthouse. In 1480 Qaitbay built a fortress on the place of the lighthouse using the structures and the remaining stones.

In 1994 near the city of Alexandria, some divers have found the ruins of a large reflector.
Valuable information about the lighthouse wrote the Arab traveler Abou-Haggag Al-Andaloussi. After the description made by him we can imagine the lighthouse appearance.

Plutarch tells a suggestive story where Alexander the Great, in 331 BC, founded the city of Alexandria, which was to become one of the great cultural and economic centers of the ancient world. Plutarch tells us that Alexander decided to build a fortress in Faros, which was then an island.

The Tower Helped Sailors To Reach The Shore Safely

Alexandria was built after the plans and under the direction of Dinocrate, Alexander’s architect. The location included the narrow land contained between the Mediterranean Sea and Lake Mareotis. In front of the town, parallel to the coast, lies the island Faros, about 3 km long. Regarding the meaning of the word “lighthouse” or if the island was named Lighthouse or vice versa, there have made several assumptions, two of which are retained.

It can be assumed that the tower was named after the island because the island is called Faros (in Greek: canvas) so that they resembled the distant shores to sail a boat. The name this island was not mentioned by Herodotus 7-8 centuries before the construction of the lighthouse. However, it is possible that the island has been a beacon of older times, which was built in marble on the time of Ptolemy II Philadelphian.

Ruins Of The City

Also, it can be assumed that the island took the name of the tower, which at first was called Faros, the Greek word “faos” which means “the light of the sun.” If it is accepted that on the island existed in ancient times a lighthouse, which was rebuilt by Ptolemy, the second hypothesis seems the closest to the truth. The lighthouse role was to help ships at sea to avoid the sandbanks and reach safely the harbor. The operation of the lighthouse was the following: night, on top of fire tower was made light of the flames being emphasized with mirrors, and during the day, a thick trail of smoke rises from the tower to the sky.

The lighthouse was built of white marble and consists of several towers stacked with richly decorated terraces created withdrawals. The number of these terraces is more questionable, according to some sources there were eight, and after a further four. El – Edrizi mentions only three towers. It appears that there were indeed three: first on a flat surface, the second – more withdrawn – on an octagonal plan and a third – at the top – in a cylindrical shape.

The Lighthouse Of Alexandria In The Sand

It is said that the first tower, the one created on a square plan – including the room had, and were workers and soldiers lived. The second tower had apparently strung vertically, spiral, stairs with which it could reach the third tower. Another important issue faced by the lighthouse manufacturer was to find materials to assure stability and durability required by the building. After all samples investigated removed from the water, finding only the glass around unchanged, decided that the lighthouse was leaning on a rock below the water through large blocks of glass.

Unfortunately, although the Arabic traditions of such processes are used in construction made underwater archaeological research aspect has not yet confirmed this. Also, it is assumed that instead of mortar to bond the stone would be used molten lead. Until the premium level terraces and staircases there was a very fine platform that allowed it to get there even with the carts. This was necessary to ease the transport of fuel to feed the fire of the Lighthouse, especially as fuel use resinous wood. From the first terrace to the top, the fuel was raised by means of ropes passing through pulleys which were a blank, left in the central part of the building.

On the material that were made the mirrors there are also uncertainties. Arabs, who conquered Egypt in the seventh century, have been impressed by the size and properties of the mirror. Some have described it as being metallic and highly polished, as otherwise they were almost always mirrors of antiquity. Others said it was just a transparent stone, probably glass.

Earthquakes continually brought great damage to the lighthouse, but it was strengthened.
After the conquest of Egypt, the Arabs have long maintained the lighthouse in operation. On the Mohammedan hands, it gave aid to the enemies of Christianity. Therefore, a Byzantine emperor sent an emissary in the ninth century to destroy it. He managed to gain the confidence of Caliph Al-Walid and was convinced that in the Lighthouse there was a huge hidden treasure.

The greed for the riches, the Caliph gave orders to demolish the building. When they reached the demolition of nearly half the height, the Caliph realized that he was wrong, but it was too late. The Arabs tried to rebuild the lighthouse, but could not reach the original height. The device that sustained the mirror could not be installed. Then came earthquakes and nobody cared for repair and maintenance of the Lighthouse.

The 1375 earthquake completely destroyed it and the entire mass of stone was thrown into the sea. The Lighthouse of Alexandria, which managed to withstand the elements for nearly 1,500 years, no longer exists today, and the island became the peninsula Faros. There is no certainty that this was the first lighthouse in the world, but certainly managed to give a substantial help to people. Only a few years after the earthquake that caused the Lighthouse ruins to be swallowed water, Kaitai Bey built a military fortress. Later it was reconstructed several times, which stand today on the former site of the famous lighthouse.

Black&White View Of The Lighthouse In Alexandria

The Lighthouse of Alexandria is the only ancient wonder of the world that had a practical use. Some say it was the first lighthouse in the world and it has survived for 1,500 years. The monument was built in the honor of the Gods Rescue: Ptolemy and his wife Bernice. After having conquered Egypt, the Arabs were in love with Alexandria and its riches. But the new rulers moved the capital to Cairo and on this occasion wanted to move the mirror reflector. But it was lowered wrong and it was broken.

It is said that it was so powerful that the sailors could see the light of the horizon to the end of the world. This sign was a sign of wealth outside of the city Alexandria, which Demetrius, in 305 BC wanted to conquer the island of Rhodes appealing to residents.