__NOTOC__ Rumeli Feneri, also Türkeli Feneri, a 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, is located on the European side of the

Bosporus Strait The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern T ...

's Black Sea entrance in Istanbul.

Etymology

Rumeli (or

Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Names of the Greeks#Romans (Ῥωμαῖοι), Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians f ...

) is a former name for the Ottoman territories west of the Bosporus Strait. The lighthouse is named for it because of

Anadolu Feneri __NOTOC__ Anadolu Feneri is a historical lighthouse still in use, which is located on the Asian side of Bosphorus' Black Sea entrance in Istanbul, Turkey. Anadolu is the Turkish name for Anatolia. It is across from the lighthouse Rumeli Feneri, ...

, a lighthouse parallel to it on the eastern side of the Bosporus Strait.

Overview

Rumeli Feneri is across from the

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 The Symplegades (; el, Συμπληγάδες, ''Symplēgádes'') or Clashing Rocks, also known as the Cyanean Rocks, were, according to Greek mythology, a pair of rocks at the Bosphorus that clashed together whenever a vessel went through. They ...

. 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 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 Black Sea during the Crimean War (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. Initially, it was lit by kerosene that was later replaced by Dalén light using carbide (

acetylene Acetylene (systematic name: ethyne) is the chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in its pure ...

gas). Today, the light source is electricity; a

butane Butane () or ''n''-butane is an alkane with the formula C4H10. Butane is a gas at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Butane is a highly flammable, colorless, easily liquefied gas that quickly vaporizes at room temperature. The name but ...

gas lighting system is also installed for backup purposes. The Fresnel lens 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 Sarı () is the Turkish word for "yellow" or "blond". It may refer to: Surname * Adem Sarı (born 1985), Turkish footballer * Ali Sarı (born 1986), Turkish taekwondo practitioner * Hasan Ahmet Sarı (born 1992), Turkish footballer * Hızır Sarı ...

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