Lighthouse in Patara Will Light Up Again After Centuries

The lighthouse, built in Patara Ancient City as the prestigious work of the Roman Emperor Neron, will be rebuilt with its original stones.

President of Patara Ancient City Excavation and Faculty Member of Akdeniz University Faculty of Letters Archeology Department. Professor. Dr. Havva İşkan Işık in a statement to the correspondent AA,  said that Patara is an important port city.

Explaining that during the Ottoman Empire, Cem Sultan met with the Rhodesians at the Patara Harbor upon the order of his father Fatih, Işık stated that Patara had a lighthouse that they saw as a "jewel".

Işık noted that the lighthouse was built in 54 AD by Neron, one of the most recognized emperors of Rome.

Stating that there is an inscription in gold letters on the lighthouse, Prof. Dr. Işık said in the inscription that the statements of Emperor Neron explaining the construction date of the lighthouse and which governor was built.

"The only lighthouse to be rebuilt with its original material"

"I am Emperor Neron. I built this lighthouse for the sailors' salvation." This is the prestige of the emperor. Neron also has a huge bath in the region. One of the largest baths in Anatolia. " Işık said, saying:

"The lighthouse in Patara is not the first lighthouse in the world. The first lighthouse is the Alexandria Lighthouse. The lighthouse in Patara is the only lighthouse that can be rebuild with its original material. All the stones used in the construction of the lighthouse were unearthed and numbered. This lighthouse is an important light on our country. It has the capacity to attract a large number of tourists after its completion. There is a lighthouse on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean in Spain. It was built much later than our lighthouse. It has been restored twice in the 17th and 18th centuries and has lost its originality and reached a completely different image. Even that lighthouse is visited by hundreds of thousands of people. Patara lighthouse will be ahead of this lighthouse with a good promotion.

"Fener is One of the Most Excited Works in Patara"

Işık said, who stated that the inscription bearing the name of Neron during the excavation of the lighthouse is located in the region where the dolphin embossed stone was built with the belief that it will bring good luck to the sailors, said, "Fener is one of the most excited works in Patara. We will do our best to stand up in a few years. It is 26 meters high and its podium height 6 meters. A giant lantern that can reach a 7-storey apartment height in total. It is a candidate to be one of the most important cultural heritages of our country.

Source: AA