Leuchtturm of Alexandria (2023)

It isthe lighthousePort of AlexanderBuilt on the island of Pharos off Alexandria,Egyptapprox. 300 - 280 BC BC, reignPtolomeo Iand two. At over 100 meters (330 feet) tall, the lighthouse is so impressive that it has been placed on the established list.seven miraclesof antiquity.

Though lost today, the building's lasting legacy is more than 1,600 years later that it donatedGreekName the architectural style of each tower with lights to guide the sailors "Pharos". perhaps influenced later Arabsalmina architectureOf course, there will also be a whole series of imitation buildings in the surrounding ports.the Mediterranean, the lighthouse is afterPyramidvonGuiza, the tallest man-made building in the world.

Port of Alexander

Was the founder of the Egyptian city of AlexandriaKing AlexanderBC, thanks to its two natural harbors in the Atlantic OceanDer NilDelta AirlinesCityThrive as a trading portPtolemaic dynasty(305-30 BC) and throughout antiquity. The city is a cosmopolitan city with citizens from all over the Greek world and has its own Parliament and Parliament.CurrencyAnd become a famous learning center.

The purpose of a lighthouse is to guide and protect seafarers and it is dedicated to that purposeZeusSauter (delivery).

Around the year 300 BC Ptolemy I Soter (r. 323–282 BC) built a huge lighthouse to guide ships to Alexandria and serve as a permanent reminder of his power and greatness. About 20 years later, the project was completed by his son and his successors.Ptolemy II(285-246 BC). The building adds to the impressive list of attractions of this great city, which includesGrabvonAlejandro, Museum (Institution of Scholars), Serapim MuseumTempleand the magnificent library.

Faro

According to some ancient sources, the lighthouse was the work of the architect Sóstrato (Cnido), but he may have financed the project. The building is located on the limestone island of Faros, overlooking the port of Alexandria. The two natural harbors are Grand Harbour, whimsically named 'Eunostos' or 'Harbour of Happy Return'. The mainland is connected to the island of Pharos by the Heptastadion, a causeway about 1.2 kilometers long. A contemporary writer named Poseidipos tells us that the purpose of this lighthouse was to guide and protect sailors and that for this purpose it was dedicated to two gods, Zeus Soter (Saviour): the inscription on the tower is in letters from half a meter wide written high. - possibly with the Greek sea proteusGood, also known as the "Old Man of the Sea".

The Alexandria Lighthouse is certainly not the first lighthouse to provide such assistance to ancient navigators, but it may well be the first monumental lighthouse. Northern ThassosAegean SeaFor example, it is known that there is a lighthouse on the island.archaic period, beacons and waypoints are widely usedCityHelp the sailors to cross the Mediterranean Sea. Ancient lighthouses were built primarily as navigational aids in localized harbors and not as a warning of dangerous shoals or underwater rocks, although due to the dangerous waters of the port of Alexandria, lighthouses served both functions.

The Greek geographer and traveler Strabo (c. 64 BC – c. 24 AD) made the following observations about Pharos:

This end of the island itself is a rock surrounded by the sea on all sides, on which stands the island's homonymous tower, built of white marble and having several floors. According to the inscription, Sostratus of Cnidus, a friend of the king, had it built for the safety of his sailors. Since the coasts are low on both sides, there are no ports, there are reefs and shoals, but the height is very noticeable.MarkeBoaters coming from the open sea must be able to accurately chart their course to the harbor entrance. (Geography，17.1）

Unfortunately, ancient authors did not make clear the exact structure of the lighthouse, and descriptions were often vague, confusing, and contradictory. Most sources agree that the tower was white (to make it more visible) and had three tiers: the lower tier was rectangular, the middle tier was octagonal, and the upper tier was circular. It is also (mostly) agreed that there is a statue of Zeus Soter on the top. Later Arabic authors describe ramps leading externally around the lower part of the tower and internal stairs leading to the upper floors. Modern historians question the tower's height, estimating it at 100 to 140 meters (330 to 460 ft), which would definitely make the lighthouse the second tallest architectural structure in the world after the Giza Pyramids.

Due to the lack of firewood, a fire was lit at the top of the tower so that it could be seen at night. However, whether this was the case from the beginning is a matter of debate among historians, largely because the earliest references to lighthouses in the works of ancient writers do not mention light at all. Later sources described the lighthouse as a beacon rather than simply a landmark tower useful only during the day. The flame and other points of the lighthouse are mentioned in the following description from the 1st century AD.RomawriterPliny the Elder:

They say it cost eight hundred talents to build; And in order not to overlook the magnanimity King Ptolemy displayed on the occasion, he allowed his name to be engraved on the building itself. Their aim was to warn ships and adjacent shoals of night fires and to signal them to enter port. (natural history,36,18)

According to later Arabic sources, there was even a mirror (probably polished).Bronze) to reflect the flames more seaward. Mirrors can also act as solar reflectors. The tower, which has no visible light, appears on the city's Roman imperial coins (frommany secret goodnessesarriveComfortable, AD 81-192), clearly shows a large tower with narrow windows, on which are a colossal statue and two smaller statues of Triton blowing a conch shell. These coins show the entrance to the tower below, while later Arabic descriptions place it higher. The lighthouse also appears on mosaics and sarcophagi throughout antiquity, testifying to its far-reaching reputation.

The lighthouse disappeared from historical records and it is possible that it was eventually shot down by a lighthouse.earthquakeSometime in the 1330s AD

It isseven miracles

Some ancient monuments impress tourists from all over the world with their beauty, their artistic and architectural quality and their sheer size, so that they are celebrated as "must-sees".him) Places of interest to ancient travelers and pilgrims. if ancient writers likeHerodotus,Callimachus von Cyrene,anti fathervonsit onand philoByzantiumA short list of the most beautiful places of antiquity has been compiled. The Alexandria Lighthouse was included in the established list of the Seven Wonders, albeit later than the others because it is a very tall and unique structure. The tower's design was copied to protect harbors and sailors throughout antiquity, and it became so famous as a lighthouse that the word "lighthouse" became known as "lighthouse".will doIt has since been applied to any tower meant to serve navigation, and in many modern languages ​​it is still the word for lighthouse.

After the 14th century, the lighthouse disappeared from historical records, possibly brought down by another earthquake in the 1330s. Built in the 15th century, Qait Bey Fort reused the granite foundations of the towers. modern navigationarcheologyIn an area where sea levels have been rising since ancient times, several stone fragments and two commemorative statues of Ptolemy I and his queen Berenice were found, which probably belonged to the tower and its surroundings.