Cape Gelidonya (Gelidonia)

Turkey / Antalya / Kumluca /
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Cape Gelidonia, Five Islands and Lighthouse:

Gelidonia Lighthouse, located to the west of Antalya between the Adrasan and Karaoz inlets, was built by the French in 1936. The lighthouse scans the area using three powerful lights that rotate every 10 seconds. The road leading to the lighthouse is also used for trekking and ends at the seashore, where the Bes Adalar (Five Islands) is located.

Gelidonia Lighthouse is also situated on the ancient Likya Road, making it a favorite route for tourist trekking tours. After a long, tiring but pleasing trek it's possible to swim in the sea surrounding the Five Islands.

The lighthouse is located on a peninsula rich in fauna, trees, flowers and herbs.

The Five Islands, which are ideal for diving and sea sports, is the scene of a shipwreck that occurred around 120 B.C. Between 1960 and 1980, the ship was raised from the depths by a crew led by George F. Bass, professor emeritus and previous holder of the George T. and Gladys H. Abell Chair in Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University. He is one of the leading pioneers in the field of underwater archaeology.

This important shipwreck can be seen at Bodrum's Underwater Museum.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelidonya
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   36°12'57"N   30°24'31"E

Comments

  • The Gelidonia shipwreck occurred in 1200 BC, not in 120 BC. It is one of two shipwrecks from the Late Bronze Age, the other being the Uluburun which was wrecked off Kas a little further west.
This article was last modified 2 years ago