Lighthouses

 

Maiden’s Tower Lighthouse, Turkey

Perched on a small islet at the entrance to the Bosphorus Strait, Maiden’s Tower Lighthouse, also known as Kizkulesi Tower, has an intricate history. The earliest presence of a structure on the site dates to the 12th century when Byzantine Emperor Manuel Komnenos ordered a tower to be built. The present-day building was constructed in 1763 and heavily restored during the 19th century. Since then it’s served as a tax collection center, a defense tower, a quarantine site during the 1830 cholera epidemic, and a radio station – as well as, of course, a lighthouse.