Alexandria Lighthouse, Egypt

In 332 BC, Alexander the Great has founded the city, which was called Alexandria. The Lighthouse of Alexandria was the main symbol of the city, which in a few years gained the status of a major port and commercial center. It's the seventh wonder of the world. The structure was built in the 4th century BC. The unique system of signal lights complementing the lighthouse appeared much later, in the 1st century BC. It's believed that outstanding architect Sostratus was an author of the lighthouse project. Construction works took 20 years.

After its completion, the lighthouse was the first structure of its kind in the world. Its scale was second only to the Giza Pyramids. The height of the lighthouse was about 30 meters. The structure stood on the small island of Pharos, which was located at the entrance of the Alexandria Bay. Unlike many other great buildings of ancient times, the Lighthouse of Alexandria had an important purpose. It helped ships to pass a reef that was located at the entrance to the bay. As noted earlier, a unique system of beacon fires appeared a few hundred years later. Initially, the lighthouse flagged vessels with usual smoke that could be seen only in the daytime.

The unique lighthouse lasted until 796 years. After that, it was badly damaged during an earthquake. Later, there were tries to restore a building, but they didn't go effective. In the late 15th century, Sultan Bey Kate ordered to turn a dilapidated lighthouse into a powerful fortress, which guests of Alexandria can see today. Researchers succeeded to discover the ruins of the lighthouse only in 1994. Using the computer modeling, they restored the image of the majestic structure as accurately as possible. To the beginning - Pyramids of Giza