Wonders _
Farol de Alexandria: Considerada uma das maiores produções da técnica da Antigüidade
Das seis Maravilhas sumidas, o Farol foi o último a desaparecer. Por isso nós temos conhecimento exato de sua localização e aparência. Avaliações antigas tais como as de Strabo e Pliny, o Velho dão-nos uma breve descrição da "torre" e do revestimento de mármore branco. Eles conta-nos como o misterioso espelho podia refletir a luz a dezanas de quilômetros de distância. A lenda diz que o espelho também era usado para detectar e queimar navios inimigoss antes deles conseguirem alcançar a costa.
Em 1166, um viajante árabe, Abou-Haggag Al-Andaloussi visitou o Farol. Ele documentou com riquezas de informações e deu-nos uma precisa descrição da estrutura pelo qual ajudou os arqueologistas a reconstruírem o monumento. Erguia-se de uma plataforma de pedra, composta de 3 estágios: o quadrado mais inferior tinha 60 m de altura com um núcleo cilíndrico, o do meio era oitavada com os lados medindo 18 m e uma altura de 28 m; e o terceiro era circular com 7 m de altura. O altura total do prédio, incluindo a fundação da base, era de 117 m, equivalente a um atual edifício de 40 andares. No alto, ardia uma fogueira de lenha ou carvão. O núcleo interno era usado como uma haste para suspender o combustível para o fogo. No estágio superior, o espelho refletia a luz solar durante o dia, enquanto que o fogo era usado à noite. Uma larga rampa em espiral conduzia à parte mais alta da construção. Nos tempos antigos, uma estátua de Poseidon enfeitava o topo do prédio.
In 796, the lighthouse may have lost its upper tier, which apparently went without repair for about a century. We are told that afterwards, Sultan Ibn Tulun (868-884) built a mosque with a dome in its place. However, this seems to conflict with Idrisi's report that the structure still operated as a lighthouse in his visit in 1115 AD. The account of this mosque may come from an unlikely tale that part of the lighthouse was demolished through trickery. The story goes that in 850 AD, the Emperor of Constantinople, a rival port, devised a clever plot to get rid of the Pharos. He spread rumors that buried under the lighthouse was a fabulous treasure. The caliph supposedly ordered the building to be torn down, and as the Arab workers began dismantling the cylindrical tower, the huge mirror of polished metal slipped away from its base and crashed into the sea. The beacon chamber was then stripped down as well as the eight-sided middle section and its two balconies. With only the base of the Lighthouse remaining, the caliph realized that he had been tricked and halted further destruction. He then ordered his workmen to start rebuilding the tower, but since the damage was now too extensive, the project had to be abandoned and instead of a tower, a crude mosque was constructed. Idrisi's report appears to completely negate this tale, though there are a number of reports of such a mosque surmounting the second tier.
In 950 and again in 956, parts of its surface cracked and to stabilize it, the lighthouse was reduced by some 22 meters in height. In 1272, the famous Sultan, Salah el-Din (Saladin) undertook restoration work, but alas, his work was in vain because on August 8th, 1303, a major earthquake shook the whole eastern Mediterranean. This was to be the end of the Seventh Wonder of the ancient world, as attested to by a maritime map preserved at Montepellier that dates the quake and notes that the lighthouse was totally destroyed. Actually, there remained some ruins of the structure for decades to come. A traveler named Ibn Battuta visited Alexandria twice, once in 1329 and again in 1346. In the first visit, he was still able to climb the ramp and reach the door of the tower, but on the second visit, the lighthouse was in such ruins that he could no longer get near it. These ruins remained for just over a century, until the Mamluk sultan Qait Bey finally had them cleared away in order to construct his fort which still stands there today. Supposedly, it uses some of the stone blocks form the Lighthouse in its walls.
Farol de Alexandria: Considerada uma das maiores produções da técnica da Antigüidade
Das seis Maravilhas sumidas, o Farol foi o último a desaparecer. Por isso nós temos conhecimento exato de sua localização e aparência. Avaliações antigas tais como as de Strabo e Pliny, o Velho dão-nos uma breve descrição da "torre" e do revestimento de mármore branco. Eles conta-nos como o misterioso espelho podia refletir a luz a dezanas de quilômetros de distância. A lenda diz que o espelho também era usado para detectar e queimar navios inimigoss antes deles conseguirem alcançar a costa.
Em 1166, um viajante árabe, Abou-Haggag Al-Andaloussi visitou o Farol. Ele documentou com riquezas de informações e deu-nos uma precisa descrição da estrutura pelo qual ajudou os arqueologistas a reconstruírem o monumento. Erguia-se de uma plataforma de pedra, composta de 3 estágios: o quadrado mais inferior tinha 60 m de altura com um núcleo cilíndrico, o do meio era oitavada com os lados medindo 18 m e uma altura de 28 m; e o terceiro era circular com 7 m de altura. O altura total do prédio, incluindo a fundação da base, era de 117 m, equivalente a um atual edifício de 40 andares. No alto, ardia uma fogueira de lenha ou carvão. O núcleo interno era usado como uma haste para suspender o combustível para o fogo. No estágio superior, o espelho refletia a luz solar durante o dia, enquanto que o fogo era usado à noite. Uma larga rampa em espiral conduzia à parte mais alta da construção. Nos tempos antigos, uma estátua de Poseidon enfeitava o topo do prédio.
In 796, the lighthouse may have lost its upper tier, which apparently went without repair for about a century. We are told that afterwards, Sultan Ibn Tulun (868-884) built a mosque with a dome in its place. However, this seems to conflict with Idrisi's report that the structure still operated as a lighthouse in his visit in 1115 AD. The account of this mosque may come from an unlikely tale that part of the lighthouse was demolished through trickery. The story goes that in 850 AD, the Emperor of Constantinople, a rival port, devised a clever plot to get rid of the Pharos. He spread rumors that buried under the lighthouse was a fabulous treasure. The caliph supposedly ordered the building to be torn down, and as the Arab workers began dismantling the cylindrical tower, the huge mirror of polished metal slipped away from its base and crashed into the sea. The beacon chamber was then stripped down as well as the eight-sided middle section and its two balconies. With only the base of the Lighthouse remaining, the caliph realized that he had been tricked and halted further destruction. He then ordered his workmen to start rebuilding the tower, but since the damage was now too extensive, the project had to be abandoned and instead of a tower, a crude mosque was constructed. Idrisi's report appears to completely negate this tale, though there are a number of reports of such a mosque surmounting the second tier.
In 950 and again in 956, parts of its surface cracked and to stabilize it, the lighthouse was reduced by some 22 meters in height. In 1272, the famous Sultan, Salah el-Din (Saladin) undertook restoration work, but alas, his work was in vain because on August 8th, 1303, a major earthquake shook the whole eastern Mediterranean. This was to be the end of the Seventh Wonder of the ancient world, as attested to by a maritime map preserved at Montepellier that dates the quake and notes that the lighthouse was totally destroyed. Actually, there remained some ruins of the structure for decades to come. A traveler named Ibn Battuta visited Alexandria twice, once in 1329 and again in 1346. In the first visit, he was still able to climb the ramp and reach the door of the tower, but on the second visit, the lighthouse was in such ruins that he could no longer get near it. These ruins remained for just over a century, until the Mamluk sultan Qait Bey finally had them cleared away in order to construct his fort which still stands there today. Supposedly, it uses some of the stone blocks form the Lighthouse in its walls.