The Mehmetcik Lighthouse

The Mehmetcik Lighthouse which appears while passing to Marmara Sea through Aegean Sea and wandering on the sea in Gallipoli Peninsula is the most well-known lightouses in Turkey.

The Mehmetcik Lighthouse was constructed by French architects by Ottoman Empire in 1856. This lighthouse is located at the beyond and most significant point in Gallipoli Peninsula while passing to Dardanelles through Aegean Sea.

The height of the lighthouse is 50 meters above sea level and the masonry tower’s height is 25 meters.

Light characteristics of the lighthouse is red sector with Fl.W 5 seconds and the visibility range is 19 nautical mile. In the beginning, oil lamps were used as a source of light, then LPG lights were used and now 1000 W electrical lamps are used for lighthouse illumination.  4 intermodal panels with focal length of 500 mm are used in order to make the light source stronger and visible remotely.

Optical panels are positioned in rectangular shape on a rotatable circular platform on the mercury bath . The light source is lit fixedlly in focus and lighthouse is provided to give a flashlight by the movement of optical panels on the platform.

There are some weights move vertically downwards which are linked with steel wires inside of the tower. The clock starts moving when the weight goes down and the clock would stop when the weight reached the bottom if the weight is not set back upwards. Lighthouse watcmen used to set up optical clock of the lighthouse with a crowbar connected to the mechanism under the optical system. This is similar to the mechanism of clocks in the houses. These machines and optical panels have been taken under protection and the lighthouse was made functional modernizing with electric engine nad photocell system.

The Mehmetcik Lighthouse and the guard building are under protection as a national heritage by the General Directorate General of Coastal Safety.