After Alexander the Great death, his commander and successor in Egypt - Ptomlemy Soter establish his administrative capital in Alexandria. Due to the dangerous sailing conditions and flat coastline in Alexandria harbor, Ptolemy Soter decided to construct a lighthouse.
Why the Lighthouse was chosen as one of the Wonders? It was believed that the Lighthouse was the only Wonder that have practical use with its impressive architecture.
Why the Lighthouse was chosen as one of the Wonders? It was believed that the Lighthouse was the only Wonder that have practical use with its impressive architecture.
Base on the description from Arabian scholar on the Lighthouse:
- The lowest section was square with 55.9 m height
- The middle section was octagonal with 27.45 m height
- The top section was circular with a statue of Poseidon stood in the summit of 7.30 m height
The statue of Poseidon - God of Ocean in Trevi Fountain - Rome, Italy
The total height of the building including the foundation base was about 117 m, it was the second tallest man made building (after the great pyramid) in the ancient world. Another fascination about the Lighthouse was the reflection of its mirror which could be seen more than 56 km off shore. During the daytime, the bronze mirror at the top stage reflected sunlight while fire was used during night time for guiding the shipping traffic.
The Lighthouse guided ship into the city harbor for 1,500 years. After going through few earthquakes from AD1303 to 1323, the Lighthouse was finally collapsed. In AD 1480, Egyptian Sultan Qaitbay decided built a fort to fortify Alexandria's defense on the same location where the Lighthouse once stood by using the fallen stone and marble remained from the Lighthouse.
In October 2006, we visited Fort Qaitbay. It is very difficult for us to relate the fort with the Lighthouse from its structure or size. We can only try to imagine which part of the fort was built by the remains of Lighthouse but we have very limited clue about it. Surprisingly, within the area of Fort Qaitbay, there isn't any particular sign to indicate the fort was built in the original site of the Lighthouse. We can’t find any miniature model or picture that depicts of the wonder. Without learning this information from tour guide or guidebook, it is very difficult for any visitor to imagine that. 
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