Şile Feneri 4.51

The Şile Feneri, a historical lighthouse still in use, is located on the western Black Sea coast in the northeast town Şile of Istanbul Province, Turkey.HistoryCommissioned by the Ottoman sultan Abdülmecid I (reigned 1839-1861), it was constructed in 1859 by French engineers. In 1860, the lighthouse went into service.The masonry lighthouse is built on a cliffy point at Cape Şile about 1km northeast of the town. The 19m tower with a gallery around the lantern room has the form of an octagonal prism. A masonry one-story keeper's house is attached to it. The lighthouse is painted white with narrow black horizontal bands.Initially, the lighthouse was lit by kerosene, however the light source was later replaced by Dalén light using carbide (acetylene gas). Since 1968, it runs on electricity. The lighthouse's lantern has eight 925mm catadioptric cylindrical lenses and a 1,000 W light source. At a focal height of 60m, it flashes white for 1.5s every 15 seconds, which is visible at a range of 20nmi. The flashing is achieved by eight rotating panels that are still set in motion by a weight-driven mechanism inside the tower using anchor escapement. The falling weight on the chain reaches the bottom of the tower in two hours. For the operation's continuity, the lighthouse keeper has to pull it up by rewinding the chain.