Within the scope of a project titled ‘Sailor Nation Sailor Country’ developed in 2004 lighthouses were introduced more widely to the public and the first lighthouse which opened to tourism was Türkeli Lighthouse in Istanbul’s Şile district

ISTANBUL - TDN with wire disaaaaaes


Lighthouses that have guided vessels and sailors for many years and warded them off danger now also contribute to the country's promotion of maritime culture.

“Within the scope of a project titled ‘Sailor Nation Sailor Country' developed in 2004 lighthouses are to become new public places of interest. The first lighthouse to open up to tourists is located in Istanbul's Şile district” said Salih Orakçı director general of the coastal safety department.

Orakçı said the first lighthouse was placed on Turaaa's coasts in 1856 adding that the Coastal Safety General Directorate is the authority managing the lighthouses today. He said there are 424 lighthouses on Turkish coasts including 103 in the Black Sea region 38 in the Bosporus area 63 in the Marmara Sea 28 in Çanakkale 104 in the Aegean Sea and 88 in the Mediterranean.

Orakçı mentioned that following the Şile Lighthouse Türkeli (Rumelia) Fenerbahçe Ahırkapı and Anatolia lighthouses were also restored thus being able to serve tourists. Future works will also include the restoration of other places. “Our main goal was not to earn money from tourism but to make the visitors interested in maritime culture and due to that contribute to the country's tourism” he said.

Orakçı noted that the interest of people and foreign tourists in lighthouses was above what was expected. He said “This project was designed to bring visitors to new public places. There has always been a mystery surrounding lighthouses and people were told in the past to stay away from them. Nowadays as a history lies behind each of these places tourists are welcome to visit them.”

“We have collected many remains of lighthouses to display in a museum some of them in ruin as they were not preserved. But those lighthouses guiding sailors in the past are still important” he added.



Leased to private enterprises

Orakçı said 16 lighthouses including Yeşilköy Kızılada Kadırga Burnu Batı Burnu Foça Hopa and Bodrum were leased to private enterprises. He said the leasing process will continue and added “We evaluate the inactive sources that we have. There are two conditions taken into consideration before granting a lease. First its historical heritage must be preserved and second the place is leased through public auction. The lighthouses have brought us YTL 1 million rental income in a year.”

Orakçı added that the new way of managing the lighthouses created more employment opportunities.



10 years in a lighthouse

İlyaz Girit working in Türkeli Lighthouse established in 1856 to provide safety of vessels passing through the Bosporus said visitors to the lighthouse always leave with unforgettable memories. He noted that especially foreign tourists show a lot of interest expressing their feelings in the lighthouse's diary. “Pointing to the view from the lighthouse people tell me I live in heaven” he said.

Girit said the number of visitors reached 50 on weekends and that most of the tourists were foreigners. “The lighthouse museum displays a number of objects used by sailors in the past. They include flares and life saving equipment telephone switchboards flares barometers radios compasses binoculars lamps dresses medical tools weapons and many more” he said.

Girit noted that the fog balls in the garden receive the most interest from visitors.



Türkeli Lighthouse

The lighthouse located in the small fishing village of Türkeli at the entrance of the Bosporus was built by the French however some sources claim they only reopened the existing lighthouse. The 30-meter lighthouse tower is located 58 meters above sea level. An oil lamp was primarily used there in the past but was recently replaced with a 500W electric lamp.

As the lighthouse collapsed several times during the construction the French company managing the construction works built a mausoleum there. On the other hand the reason given by others was that the collapses occurred due to the mausoleum underneath. Sarı Saltuk Mausoleum has not been removed and is still open to the public.