Wonders of the World: Alexandria Lighthouse

One of the Seven Wonders of the World is the Alexandria Lighthouse, a structure built on the island of Pharos in the third century BC. The construction is located near the famous Egyptian city of Alexandria, in connection with which he was given this name. Another option may be the phrase "Faros Lighthouse" - from the name of the island on which it is located.

Purpose

The first miracle of the world - the Alexandria lighthouse - was originally intended to help the lost sailors who want to get to the shore, safely breaking the underwater reefs. At night, the path was illuminated by flames and signal beams of light emanating from a huge fire, and in the afternoon - pillars of smoke emanating from the fire, located at the very top of this sea tower. The Alexandrian lighthouse served faithfully for almost a thousand years, but it was very badly damaged by an earthquake in 796 BC. After this earthquake in history, five more powerful and prolonged tremors were recorded, which finally disabled this magnificent creation of human hands. Of course, it was repeatedly tried to reconstruct, but all attempts led only to the fact that it left a small fortress, which was built by the sultan of Kite Bay in the 15th century. It is this fortress that can be seen today. She is all that remains of this majestic creation of man.

History

Let's go into history a little and find out how this miracle of the world was built, because it's really exciting and interesting. How many things have happened, what features of the construction and its purpose - we'll tell you about all this below, do not be too lazy to read it.

Where is the lighthouse of Alexandria

The lighthouse was built on a small island called Faros, which is located off the coast of Alexandria in the Mediterranean Sea. The whole history of this lighthouse was originally associated with the name of the great conqueror Alexander of Macedon. He was the creator of the first miracle of the world - a thing that all mankind is proud of. On this island, Alexander the Great decided to establish a large port, which he actually did in 332 BC during his visit to Egypt. The structure received two names: the first - in honor of the one who decided to build it, the second - in honor of the name of the island on which it is located. In addition to the famous lighthouse, the conqueror decided to build another city of the same name - one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean. It should be noted that throughout his life Alexander the Great built about eighteen policies with the name "Alexandria", but this one has gone down in history and is known to the present day. First of all, the city was built, and only then its main attraction. Initially, the construction of the lighthouse was supposed to take 20 years, but it was not there. The whole process took only 5 years, but despite this, the construction saw the world only in 283 BC, after the death of Alexander the Great - in the time of the Ptolemy II government - the king of Egypt.

Features of construction

Alexander the Great decided to approach the construction issue very carefully. According to some sources, he chose a place for the construction of the port for more than two years. The Conqueror did not want to create a city in the Nile delta , to which he found a very good substitute. The building site was smashed twenty miles to the south, not far from the withering Lake Mareotis. Earlier there was a platform of the Egyptian city of Rakotis, which in turn facilitated the entire construction process. The whole advantage of the location was that the port was able to receive ships from both the Mediterranean and the Nile, which was very lucrative and diplomatic. This not only increased the profits of the conqueror, but also helped him and his followers build strong bonds and merchants and seafarers of that time. The city had time to create even during the life of Macedon, but the Alexandrian lighthouse became the development of Ptolemy's first Soter. It was he who finished the design and put it into practice.

Alexandrian lighthouse. A photo

Looking at the image, we will see that the beacon consists of several "layers". Three large marble towers stand on the base of huge stone blocks, weighing several hundred thousand tons. The first tower has the form of a huge rectangle. Inside it are rooms intended for housing soldiers and workers of the port. Above it was a smaller octagonal tower. The spiral ramp was a transition to the upper cylindrical tower, inside of which was located a large fire, which served as a source of light. The whole construction weighed several million tons, without taking into account the ornaments and devices inside it. Because of this, the soil began to sag, which caused serious problems and required additional fortifications and construction work.

The beginning of fire

Despite the fact that the Faroese lighthouse was built during 285 - 283 BC, it began to work only at the beginning of the first century BC. It was then that the whole system of signal lights was developed, working thanks to the large bronze discs that direct light into the sea. In parallel with this, the composition of gunpowder was invented, which allocated a huge amount of smoke - a way of indicating the way in the afternoon.

Height and range of the outgoing light

The total height of the Alexandrian lighthouse is from 120 to 140 meters (the difference is the difference in the height of the ground). Thanks to this arrangement, the light from the fire was visible over a distance of more than 60 kilometers in bright weather (there is evidence that the light was visible in the calm 100 kilometers or more) and up to 45-50 kilometers during a thunderstorm. The direction of the rays was due to a special construction in several rows. The first row was a tetrahedral prism, whose height reached 60-65 meters, with a square base, an area of 900 square meters. It kept inventory and everything necessary to supply fuel and maintain the "eternal" fire. The basis for the middle part was a large flat lid, the corners of which were decorated with large Triton statues. This room was an octagonal tower of white marble, 40 meters high. The third part of the lighthouse is built of eight columns, on top of them there is a large dome, which is adorned with a large eight-meter statue of Poseidon made of bronze. Another name for the statue is Zeus the Savior.

"Eternal flame"

The maintenance of fire was a difficult task. Every day more than a ton of fuel was needed, so that the fire could burn with the necessary force. The tree, which was the main material, was delivered in specially equipped carts along a spiral ramp. The carts were dragged by mules, who needed more than a hundred for one lift. To ensure that the light from the fire spread as far as possible, behind the flames, at the foot of each column, placed huge bronze sheets, with the help of which the lights were directed.

Additional purpose

According to some manuscripts and preserved documents, the Alexandria lighthouse served not only as a source of light for lost sailors. For soldiers, he became an observation point, for scientists - an astronomical observatory. Accounts say that there was a lot of very interesting technical equipment - clocks of all shapes and sizes, a weather vane, as well as many astronomical and geographical instruments. Other sources say there is a huge library and a school in which to teach the initial disciplines, but this does not have any substantive evidence.

Death

The death of the lighthouse occurred not only because of several powerful earthquakes, but also because the bay almost ceased to use, because it was very silted. After the port became unsuitable for operation, the bronze plates, through which the light was sent to the sea, were melted down into coins and ornaments. But it was not the end. The complete death of the lighthouse occurred in the 15th century during one of the most powerful earthquakes that ever happened at the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. After that, the remains were restored several times and served as a fortress, as well as a home for the few inhabitants of the island.

In modern world

To date, the Faro Lighthouse, a photo of which can be very easily found, is one of the few architectural monuments lost in history and time. This is something that up to now interests both scientists and ordinary people who like centuries-old things, because it involves many events, literary works and scientific discoveries, important for the entire development of the world. Alas, not much remains of the 7 wonders of the world. The Alexandria lighthouse, or rather, only a part of it, is one of those structures that humanity can be proud of. True, everything that was left of it - it's just the lower tier, which served as a warehouse and residence for the military and workers. Due to a number of reconstructions, the building was not completely destroyed. It was converted into something like a small fortress castle, inside which the remaining inhabitants of the island lived. This is what you can see by visiting the island of Pharos, which is quite popular with tourists. After full construction and cosmetic repairs, the lighthouse has a more modern look, which makes it a modern building with a centuries-old history.

Future plans

The Alexandria lighthouse is one of the sites under the protection of UNESCO. Due to this, various repair works are carried out every year in order to protect the fortress from destruction. There was even a time when they talked about completely renewing the old look, but this was never done, because then the lighthouse would lose the status of one of the wonders of the world. But you must see it if you are interested in history.