PATARA LIGHTHOUSE STANDS AGAIN AFTER 544 YEARS
The restoration of the 26.5-meter-high lighthouse, built by the Roman Emperor Nero in the ancient city of Patara in Antalya's Kaş district, and completely destroyed in the 1481 tsunami, has been completed. The scaffolding was removed, and it was restored to its former glory, as it was 544 years ago. Prof. Dr. Havva İşkan Işık shared the latest photos of the lighthouse and called for Nero's light to be lit.
The 26.5-meter-high lighthouse, built by the Roman Emperor Nero in the ancient city of Patara, which dates back to 6000 BC in Kaş district, and completely destroyed in the 1481 tsunami, was seen for the first time after the restoration, with its scaffolding removed. The restoration project of the Patara Lighthouse, which was rebuilt after 544 years, was initiated during the Antalya Governorship of Münir Karaloğlu, within the scope of declaring 2020 as the 'Year of Patara' in tourism.
IT WAS SEEN AS ITS ORIGINAL STATE
The lighthouse, built by the Roman Emperor Nero in 64 AD, is one of the most important among the hundreds of historical artifacts unearthed in the excavations started 37 years ago by Prof. Dr. Fahri Işık from Akdeniz University and his wife Havva İşkan Işık. Approximately 80% of the original stones unearthed during the excavations were used, and artificial intelligence technologies were used to place them in their original positions before the destruction. Prof. Dr. Havva İşkan Işık, who announced last week that the restoration works, which started in 2020 and lasted for nearly 5 years, have been completed, and who served as the deputy head of excavations and head of excavations in Patara excavations from 1988 until her retirement in 2023, also shared the images of the lighthouse after the 26.5-meter-high tower's scaffolding was removed. The restored lighthouse looked as it did 544 years ago, with the removal of the scaffolding.
ENVIRONMENTAL ARRANGEMENTS WILL BE MADE
Prof. Dr. Havva İşkan Işık, who shared the photos of the lighthouse after the scaffolding was removed, said, "Thank God, thank God. You did not disappoint those who created this miracle with their labor, thank God. The restoration works carried out at the Patara Emperor Nero Lighthouse have come to an end. The lighthouse will be opened to visitors after the podium steps, the door, and the statue pedestal of the Lycian Provincial Governor Sextus Marcius Priskus are placed, and the environmental arrangements are completed."
'MY WISH IS FOR THE LIGHT OF THE LIGHTHOUSE TO SHINE'
Prof. Dr. Havva İşkan Işık also called for the light of the Patara Lighthouse to be lit again, as it did in historical periods, to guide ships at sea. Prof. Dr. Işık said, "My wish is for the light of the lighthouse to shine. Thus, its purpose and function will be realized. This will also become a symbolic element that completes the restoration of the lighthouse. And also, all the cruise ships and other ships passing in front of Patara Beach, because they usually pass at night, will announce when they see the light of that lighthouse, 'We are currently passing through Patara in Antalya, Turkey, and we are lighting Nero's light.' It will also be important for the promotion of Turkey."
'IT TOOK 20 YEARS'
Prof. Dr. Işık, explaining that she was there every day of the excavations that lasted 37 years in Patara, 16 years as the head of excavations, said, "I owe a great debt of gratitude to our Presidency, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Antalya Governorship, the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, and the YİKOB employees, who made the restoration of this lighthouse possible. The excavation and reconstruction of the lighthouse took 20 years, and I feel like it is my own child. I would like to thank everyone who contributed."
