لخّصلي

The light house 'Pharos'

Location: it was built by Ptolemy I and completed by his son Ptolemy II, on the southern corner of the island of pharaos; it was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Importance: it was used to guide the travelers sailing to Egypt across the Mediterranean Sea by light; it was the tallest building in the Greek world because some scholars assumed that they invented the usage of lenses in this early date.

Description: it consisted of four floors on their top there is a statue made out of bronze of god Poseidon 'the sea god'.

The first floor was square in shape its facade was decorated by the Greek words mentioning the name of Ptolemy I, it also contained 300 rooms; it was used as storerooms for the fuel like wood and oils or as places for the workers, there were also a cistern under the ground that provide the place by fresh water for workmen and guards, on the four corners of its top there were four figures of Tritons 'god of Greek sailors', there were a primitive left to move fuel from the first to the fourth floor.

The second floor was octagonal and 30 meters in height.

The third floor was circular in shape and reached 15 meters in height.

The fourth floor consisted of 8 columns made of different materials like limestone, sandstone, marble..etc; between them there was a lantern which reflects the light into the sea to guide the ships to the ports of Alexandria and the top is decorated by a

7

dome, on the top of the dome there is the statue of god Poseidon with reaches 7 meters high.

History of the light house: a great earthquake happened in 700 A.D and destroyed the third and the fourth floors, in the Tulunid period the light house was restored, but in the 13ª century another earthquake destroyed the second floor, thus only the first floor has survived and it has been used as tower for watching the ships, again in the 14th century another earthquake destroyed the first floor and the rest of the light house. In 1480 el Ashraf Qaitbay built his citadel and fortress to protect the shores of Alexandria and used some of its blocks in his new building.

The light house 'Pharos'

Location: it was built by Ptolemy I and completed by his son Ptolemy II, on the southern corner of the island of pharaos; it was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Importance: it was used to guide the travelers sailing to Egypt across the Mediterranean Sea by light; it was the tallest building in the Greek world because some scholars assumed that they invented the usage of lenses in this early date.

Description: it consisted of four floors on their top there is a statue made out of bronze of god Poseidon 'the sea god'.

The first floor was square in shape its facade was decorated by the Greek words mentioning the name of Ptolemy I, it also contained 300 rooms; it was used as storerooms for the fuel like wood and oils or as places for the workers, there were also a cistern under the ground that provide the place by fresh water for workmen and guards, on the four corners of its top there were four figures of Tritons 'god of Greek sailors', there were a primitive left to move fuel from the first to the fourth floor.

The second floor was octagonal and 30 meters in height.

The third floor was circular in shape and reached 15 meters in height.

The fourth floor consisted of 8 columns made of different materials like limestone, sandstone, marble..etc; between them there was a lantern which reflects the light into the sea to guide the ships to the ports of Alexandria and the top is decorated by a

7

dome, on the top of the dome there is the statue of god Poseidon with reaches 7 meters high.

History of the light house: a great earthquake happened in 700 A.D and destroyed the third and the fourth floors, in the Tulunid period the light house was restored, but in the 13ª century another earthquake destroyed the second floor, thus only the first floor has survived and it has been used as tower for watching the ships, again in the 14th century another earthquake destroyed the first floor and the rest of the light house. In 1480 el Ashraf Qaitbay built his citadel and fortress to protect the shores of Alexandria and used some of its blocks in his new building.