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Click on the names of the cities THE LIGHTHOUSE ON PHAROS
So impressive was ancient Egypt's building efforts over the pharaonic period that it commanded two wonders of the ancient world. One, the Great Pyramid of Giza, was built near the beginning of Egyptian history, while the second, Seventh Wonder was mostly built by one of Egypt's last pharaohs, Ptolemy I Sorter, though he died prior to its completion. While the first still stands, the latter was destroyed, almost certainly by an earthquake. This was Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria, which of the vanished wonders of the ancient world, was the last built and the last to remain standing. Pharos Lighthouse stood on the eastern point of Pharos Island some distance from the city center of Alexandria. Constructed at the beginning of the third century BC over a period of about twelve years and at an enormous cost and using considerable slave labour, Pharos Lighthouse was completed and inaugurated by the first Ptolemy's son, Ptolemy Philadelphus, in 283 (some say 279 BC, when Ptolemy Philadelphus held a festival to honour his parents). Prior to its destruction, it underwent a number of modifications by later rulers. The architect was Sostratos, a Greek from the Asia Minor city of Cnidus, whose name also appears on the sanctuary of Apolo at Delphi and on Delos. Though only the king's name was allowed on buildings erected during their reigns in the period, Sostratos got around this by also carving his own with a dedication, which was then covered with plaster. The consecration in honour of Ptolemy was then carved into the plaster, which over time peeled away leaving only Sostratos dedication, which provides, "Sostratos of Cnidus, son of Dexiphanes, to the saviour gods, for sailors. The lighthouse was apparently a tourist attraction from the very beginning. We are told that food was sold to visitors at the observation platform at the top of the first level. A smaller balcony provided a view from the top of the eight-sided tower for those that wanted to make the additional climb. The view from there must have been impressive as it was probably 300 feet above the sea. There were few places in the ancient world where a person could ascend a man-made tower to get such a perspective.
The lighthouse of Alexandria (or The Pharos of Alexandria), was a tower built in the 3rd century BC (between 285 and 247 BC) on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt to serve as that port's landmark, and later, its lighthouse The lighthouse was completed in the 3rd century B.C., after having been initiated by Satrap (governor) Ptolemy I Soter, Egypt's first Macedonian ruler and a general of Alexander the Great. After Alexander died unexpectedly at age 32, Ptolemy Soter (Saviour, named so by the inhabitants of Rhodes) made himself king in 305 B.C. and ordered the construction of the Pharos shortly thereafter. The building was finished during the reign of his son, Ptolemy Philadelphos. According to legend, Sostratus was forbidden by Ptolemy from putting his name on his work. But the architect left the following inscription on the base's walls nonetheless: "Sostratus, the son of Dexiphanes, the Cnidian, dedicated (or erected) this to the Saviour gods, on behalf of those who sail the seas"; the original Greek inscription "ΣΟΣΤΡΑΤΟΣ ΔΕΞΙΦΑΝΟΥ ΚΝΙΔΙΟΣ ΘΕΟΙΣ ΣΩΤΕΡΣΙΝ ΥΠΕΡ ΤΩΝ ΠΛΩΙΖΟΜΕΝΩΝ" literally means: "Sostratos of Dexiphanes [meaning: son of Dexiphanes] the Cnidian to Saviour Gods for the seafarers (or seafaring [ones])". These words were hidden under a layer of plaster, on top of which was chiseled another inscription honoring Ptolemy the king as builder of the Pharos. After centuries the plaster wore away, revealing the name of Sostratus. The lighthouse was badly damaged in the earthquake of 956, then again in 1303 and 1323. The fullest description of it comes from the Arab traveler Abou Haggag Youssef Ibn Mohammed el-Andaloussi who visited the structure as a tourist in 1166. His description runs: "The Pharos rises at the end of the island. The building is square, about 8.5m each side. The sea surrounds the Pharos except on the east and south sides. This platform measures, along its sides, from the tip up to the foot of the Pharos walls, 6.5m in height. However, on the sea side, it is larger because of the construction and is steeply inclined like the side of a mountain. As the height of the platform increases towards the walls of the Pharos its width narrows until it arrives at the measurements above. On this side it is strongly built, the stones being well shaped and laid along with a rougher finish than elsewhere on the building. This part of the building that I have just described is recent because on this side the ancient work needed to be replaced. On the seaward south side, there is an ancient inscription which I cannot read; it is not a proper inscription because the forms of the letters are carried out in hard black stone. The combination of the sea and the air has worn away the background stone and the letters stand out in relief because of their harshness. The A measures a little over 54cm. The top of the M stands out like a huge hole in a copper boiler. The other letters are generally of the same size. The doorway to the Pharos is high up. A ramp about 183m long used to lead up to it. This ramp rests on a series of curved arches; my companion got beneath one of the arches and stretched out his arms but he was not able to reach the sides. There are 16 of these arches, each gradually getting higher until the doorway is reached, the last one being especially high."
The Lighthouse of Alexandria was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Situated on the small offshore island of Pharos, the Lighthouse lit the way for many sailors navigating the tricky harbour into what was then one of the world's centres of civilization. Pharos actually was not a true island: it was connected to the mainland by a dike, called the Heptastadion. In this way, Alexandria had two harbours, one on either side of the dike. The lighthouse was the idea of Ptolemy Soter, who took over command of Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great. Construction began in 290 B.C. The project was so daunting that it was completed after his death, by his son Ptolemy Philadelphus. The main architect for the project was a man named Sostratus. Detailed calculations for the project were completed at the famed Library of Alexandria. Inside the base was a cylinder that stretched from bottom to top and carried fuel needed to light the fire that burned from the top of the structure. This fire was the beacon during the night. In the daytime, a mirror reflected sunlight and served as the same sort of beacon. (A legend says also that the mirror could be used to burn enemy ships before they could sail into the harbour.) The Lighthouse stood for centuries, first and foremost as a beacon to travellers and next as a tribute to the greatness of Hellenic civilization. Earthquakes eventually brought down the famed structure, however. The first one, in 1303, shook up the entire area; the second one, 20 years later, did significant structural damage. By this time, also, the Lighthouse had fallen into disrepair because the Arab conqueror of Egypt didn't keep it up. Sultan Qaitbay in 1480 used the stone and marble that had once made up the Lighthouse to build a fort on the very spot where the Lighthouse once stood.
The lighthouse of Alexandria (or The Pharos of Alexandria), was a tower on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt to serve as that port's landmark, and later, its lighthouse. The Pharos Lighthouse stood on the eastern point of Pharos Island some distance from the city center of Alexandria. Constructed at the beginning of the third century BC over a period of about twelve years and at an enormous cost and using considerable slave labour, Pharos Lighthouse was completed and inaugurated by the first Ptolemy's son, Ptolemy Philadelphus, in 283 (some say 279 BC, when Ptolemy Philadelphus held a festival to honor his parents). Pharos Lighthouse is consistently depicted and recorded as being a monumental edifice with three tiers, consisting of a lower quadrangular one, surmounted by an octagonal layer and topped by a cylindrical section. The approach to its entrance was by way of a long ramp with vaulted arcades. Within, an apparently large spiral ramp led to some fifty service rooms and also allowed pack animals to bring firewood up to the third tier to feed the fire that acted as the light source. According to the Moorish travelers, the building was 300 cubits high. Because the cubit measurement varied from place to place, this could mean that the Pharos stood anywhere from 450 to 600 feet in height, although the lower figure is more likely. Some modern interpretations of these measurements provide that the lowest square, measured about 55.9 m (183.4 ft) high with a cylindrical core; the middle octagonal with a side length of 18.30 m (60.0 ft) and a height of 27.45 m (90.1 ft); and the third circular 7.30 m (24.0 ft) high. The total height of the building including the foundation base was about 117 m (384 ft), equivalent to a 40-story modern building. In 1272, the famous Sultan, Salah el-Din (Saladin) undertook restoration work, but alas, his work was in vain because on August 8th, 1303, a major earthquake shook the whole eastern Mediterranean. This was to be the end of the Seventh Wonder of the ancient world, as attested to by a maritime map preserved at Montpellier that dates the quake and notes that the lighthouse was totally destroyed.
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