The Kızılada Lighthouse ( tr, Kızılada Feneri) is an historical

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

still in use, which is located on the island Kızılada in the

Gulf of Fethiye The Gulf of Fethiye ( tr, Fethiye Körfezi) is a branch of the Mediterranean Sea in southwestern Turkey. The cities Fethiye and Göcek of Muğla Province are situated around the gulf. It is bounded on the west by Cape Kurdoğlu ( tr, Kurtoğlu Bu ...

, southwestern Turkey.

History

The masonry lighthouse was constructed in 1910 by Frenchmen on the southern point of the island. The -tall lighthouse tower with a gallery around the lantern room has the form of a

cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...

and is white painted. A one-story keeper's house is attached to it. At a focal height of , it flashes white every 5 seconds, which is visible at a range of . It is also equıipped with

racon Radar beacon (short: racon) is – according to ''article 1.103'' of the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) ITU Radio Regulations (RR) – defined as "A transmitter-receiver associated with a fixed navigational mark which, when trig ...

device. Operated and maintained by the Coastal Safety Authority ( tr, Kıyı Emniyeti Genel Müdürlüğü) of the Ministry of Transport and Communication, it is listed in Turkey under the code "TUR-037" and registered internationally under E5841. The lighthouse was renovated in 2007, and is powered by a

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

. It is floodlit at night. In 2007, the lighthouse was opened to tourism pursuant to a 49-year lease to the Kizilada Tourism Corporation. A

seafood restaurant A seafood restaurant is a restaurant that specializes in seafood cuisine and seafood dishes, such as fish and shellfish. Dishes may include freshwater fish. The concept may focus upon the preparation and service of fresh seafood, (as opposed to ...

was opened next to the lighthouse in 2007, and the next year a hostel with nine rooms was added. In 2008, a 31.47-grams

silver coin Silver coins are considered the oldest mass-produced form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks; their silver drachmas were popular trade coins. The ancient Persians used silver coins between 612–330 ...

was minted with the lighthouse's profile.

Aviation accident

Lockheed L-749A Constellation The Lockheed L-749 Constellation is the first Lockheed Constellation to regularly cross the Atlantic Ocean non-stop. Although similar in appearance to the L-649 before it, the L-749 had a larger fuel capacity, strengthened landing gear, and even ...

aircraft operated by

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...

on the flight AF152 en route from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, Italy to

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, Lebanon

ditched In aviation, a water landing is, in the broadest sense, an Landing, aircraft landing on a body of water. Seaplanes, such as floatplanes and flying boats, land on water as a normal operation. Ditching is a controlled emergency landing on the ...

off the coast of

Fethiye Fethiye () is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is one of the prominent tourist destinations in the Turkish Riviera. In 2019 its population was 162,686. History Fethiye was formerly known as Makri (). ...

, about off the island Kızılada after midnight on August 3, 1953. The cause of the accident was a propeller failure. The lighthouse keeper Mustafa Pehlivan rushed to the accident site by boat and rescued some survivors. He also alerted customs officials and fishermen who helped in the rescue. Of the 8 aircrew and 34 passengers on board, 38 survived the accident while four passengers drowned. The location of the aircraft's wreck underwater is still unknown.

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