The Cadiz lighthouse is built within the San Sebastián Castle on the La Caleta islet. According to legend, La Caleta was the home to the Temple of Kronos. By Greek mythology, he was the youngest of the Titans, god of time and the ages, and father to Zeus. The spelling of his name can also be Chronos - hence the word chronology meaning "arrangement of events or dates in the order of their occurrence". La Caleta is a natural harbor that was used by the Phoenicians, Carthaginians and Romans. The city has always had walled fortifications that were sufficient to repel raids all the way through the Barbary Corsair raids in the 16th century. The most determined enemy that Cadiz faced was the English beginning in 1587 by Sir Francis Drake. The English did a pretty good number on the city and the attack of 1586 left the city in ruins. New fortifications were built around the entire city after this attack. The castle seen today was built beginning in 1706. In the late 1800s, the island was joined to the mainland by a kilometer-long jetty. The lighthouse was installed in 1908 and is built on the base of a Moorish watchtower. Before the metal lighthouse was built, there was a 39 meter stone tower. That stone tower was demolished in 1855 fearing that the lighthouse would guide the US ships during the Spanish-American War. The US never did make any attacks on the Spanish mainland. The present lighthouse is 41 meters tall and was Spain's second electric lighthouse at the time of its construction. It serves now as the landfall light for Cádiz.
Public market.
.JPG)
This fort was the background for the conversation in James Bond 'Die Another Day' - it was set as Cuba in the storyline.
No comments:
Post a Comment