The Kızılada Lighthouse () 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 lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

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

Gulf of Fethiye The Gulf of Fethiye () 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 () and on the east by Cape İblis/Cap ...

, 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 () 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 infinite ...

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 () 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 wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over ...

. 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 one of 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 B ...

was minted with the lighthouse's profile.

Aviation accident

A Lockheed L-749A Constellation aircraft operated by

Air France Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...

on the flight AF152 en route from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy to

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, Lebanon

ditched In aviation, a water landing is, in the broadest sense, an 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 water surf ...

off the coast of

Fethiye Fethiye () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Muğla Province, Turkey. Its area is 875 km2, and its population is 177,702 (2022). It is one of the prominent tourist destinations in the Turkish Riviera. It was formerly k ...

, 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.

References

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