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28 Lighthouses Across Greece Open to the Public On Sunday

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Doukato Lighthouse. Credit: CAVassilios/Twitter

A total of twenty-eight lighthouses across Greece are open to the public on Sunday, August 21st in celebration of International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend 2022.

The lighthouses will be welcoming visitors from 10 am to 8 pm, presenting them with the rare opportunity to learn about the contribution of lighthouses to navigational safety as well as their significance in terms of cultural heritage.

The lighthouses that will open to the public this year are the ones at the following locations:

1. Ag. Nikolaos – Kea island
2. Akrotiri – Santorini island
3. Arkitsa – Fthiotis
4. Mudari – Kithira island
5. Vrysaki – Lavrio
6. Fiscardo – Kefalonia island
7. Gourouni – Skopelos island
8. Drepano – Chania, in island of Crete
9. Kastri – Othoni island
10. Keri – Zakynthos island
11. Skinari – Zakynthos island
12. Kranai – Gythio
13. Megalo Embolo – Thessaloniki
14. Melagavi – Loutraki
15. Plaka – Lemnos island
16. Koraka – Paros island
17. Kokinopoulou – Psara island
18. Port of Alexandroupolis
19. Tenaro – Laconia
20. Koprena – Arta
21. Kaki Kefali – Chalkida
22. Monemvasia – Laconia
23. Lakkas – Paxi island
24. Vasilina – Evia island
25. Pappa – Ikaria island
26. Spathi – Serifos island
27. Doukato – Lefkada island
28. Katakolo – Ilia

Heritage of lighthouses in Greece and the world

According to the Lighthouse Authority of the Hellenic Navy, the Greek network of lighthouses extends 18,400 km along the coast of Greece.

Today, the 1,297 torches maintained by the Lighthouse Authority are estimated to fully cover the lighting needs of an extremely large number of islands, islets, and rock islands (9,835) as well as 1,345 bays and coves, 161 straits and channels, and 520 ports.

The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW) is an annual event held on the third full weekend of August each year. It was the brainchild of John Forsyth and Mike Dalrymple, who were members of the Ayr Amateur Radio Group in Scotland and founded the initiative in 1998.

The objective of the event, which has become increasingly popular worldwide is said “to promote public awareness of lighthouses and lightships and their need for preservation and restoration, to promote amateur radio and to foster [international] goodwill.”

As many of these buildings are suffering from neglect and vandalism, the organizers aspire to make people aware of the need to conserve these historic aids to navigation before they are lost.

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