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THE HISTORY OF THE LIGHTHOUSE
During
1850's decade as the development of a small harbor began - in the
same place where the modern harbor of Alexandroupolis is located-
, the need of a lighthouse was appearing . This lighthouse would
facilitate and help the local sailors but also all the sailors going
to and coming from nearby Hellespont Narrows. There for, a rocky
cylindric tower with wide base, was built. The lighthouse, namely
the torch which serves the sailing was placed at the top .
The construction of
the lighthouse was under taken by the French Company of Lighthouses
. The lanters were made after a contract with the Turkish Goverment
which controled the area in that period of time.
It is not certain how
long it took them to end with the construction. For sure , it started
to lit for the first time in 1st of June 1880. At the very beginning,
it worked with acetylene, and later with petrolenm using the method
of incadencence. Since 1974 it works using electricity but spare
bottles of acetylene in case of power failure , are available. Repairs
and refits in the lighthouse's building were made in 1946 and 1955.
In
the year 2002, the electrical equipment was replaced with a new
one using modern technology. The lamp's champer (lantern room) is
placed at the top of the building. A concave mirror rotates and
sends the light directly to the round placed prisms.The mirror's
movement before the use of the electricity required a procedure
of counter poises and pulleys, a job performed by the lighthouse-keeper.
Anybody who wants to reach the top of the lighthouse has to climb
98 stairs and six big half-landings. Next to every half-landing
there is a small oblong window, facing the south, which helps the
lighting of the interior space.
The lighthouse's height
is 18 meters measured by the ground and 27 meters measured from
the sea level. Its position is 40o 50´ 07´´ North, 25o 52´ 05´´
East. Lighthouse 's characteristics are three (03) white flashes
every 15 seconds (0.38+2.12+0.38+2.12+0.39+9.62=15secs). Its luminosity
has a range of 24 nautical miles (44km), under ideal weather conditions.
It operates under the
direct personel supervision of the Hellenic Lighthouse Service and
it is one of the few supervised lighthouses that exist today. It
is the nautical symbol of Alexandroupolis. In 1994 during the Nautical's
Week celebration , a slab of marble was placed in its entrance by
the club of antiquity friends and cultural legacy of Evros prefecture.
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