__NOTOC__ Rumeli Feneri, also Türkeli Feneri, a historical lighthouse still in use, is located on the European side of the Bosporus Strait's

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

entrance in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Etymology

Rumeli (or Rumelia) is a former name for the Ottoman territories west of the Bosporus Strait. The lighthouse is named for it because of Anadolu Feneri, a lighthouse parallel to it on the eastern side of the Bosporus Strait.

Overview

Rumeli Feneri is across from the Anadolu Feneri lighthouse, which is on the Anatolian side of the strait at a distance of . In the Greek myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece, the two islets these lighthouses were built were called the Symplegades. They became a gang, destroying any ship which passed between them. A line connecting the two lighthouses marks the northern boundary of the Port of Istanbul. The lighthouse town is Rumelifeneri, which today is a fishermen's village in

Sarıyer Sarıyer () is the northernmost district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European side of the city. It consists of the neighbourhoods of Rumelifeneri, Tarabya, Yeniköy, İstinye, Emirgan and Rumelihisarı. Sarıyer also administers the Black Sea co ...

district. The lighthouse was built by the French in order to provide safe navigation for the French and British war ships entering and exiting the

during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...

(1853–1856). The lighthouse went into service on 15 May 1856, together with its Anatolian counterpart. It was operated by the French until 1933 when the 100-year concession was cancelled and the Turkish authorities took over. Today, it is maintained by the Coastal Safety Authority ( tr, Kıyı Emniyeti Genel Müdürlüğü) of the Ministry of Transport and Communication. The lighthouse is situated on a hillside high above the sea level and has a height of . It is the tallest lighthouse in Turkey. The tower has the form of a two-staged

octagonal prism In geometry, the octagonal prism is the sixth in an infinite set of prisms, formed by rectangular sides and two regular octagon caps. If faces are all regular, it is a semiregular polyhedron. Symmetry Images The octagonal prism can also ...

. Initially, it was lit by

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

that was later replaced by

Dalén light A Dalén light is a light produced from burning of carbide gas (acetylene), combined with a solar sensor which automatically operates the light only during darkness. Overview The technology was the predominant form of light source in lighthouse ...

using

carbide In chemistry, a carbide usually describes a compound composed of carbon and a metal. In metallurgy, carbiding or carburizing is the process for producing carbide coatings on a metal piece. Interstitial / Metallic carbides The carbides of th ...

( acetylene gas). Today, the light source is electricity; a butane gas lighting system is also installed for backup purposes. The

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

with focal length allows the white light that group flashes every 12 seconds, a range of . The lighthouse is listed in Turkey under the code "TUR-053" and its radio call sign is TC1RLH. Rumeli Feneri is open to the public as a historical site. A

Muslim saint A wali (''wali'' ar, وَلِيّ, '; plural , '), the Arabic word which has been variously translated "master", "authority", "custodian", "protector", is most commonly used by Muslims to indicate an Islamic saint, otherwise referred to by the ...

by the name of Sarı Saltuk has a tomb inside the lighthouse.

References

Notes

External links

Directorate General of Coastal Safety
{{Authority control Lighthouses completed in 1856 Tourist attractions in Istanbul Bosphorus Lighthouses of the Black Sea Lighthouses in Istanbul Sarıyer

Etymology

Overview

See also

References

Notes

External links