The lighthouse of Chania is an iconic monument of the town and favourite photographic subject for the millions of tourists that have visited it over the years! Myself I have spend many weeks in this beautiful small town of west Crete either for work or for pleasure (or both at the same time) and have had more than enough opportunities to capture the lighthouse in many different occasions! Morning or evening, dusk or night, cloudy or clear, winter or summer, it has always been an amazing point of interest for my pictures. Today I want to share with you a selection of those pictures, all of them around the same spot but at the same time so different with each other!
If you are interested in the historical facts about it, this guy here sums it up pretty well!
The original Venetian lighthouse was built around the late 16th century to protect the harbour. A chain could be connected from the base of the lighthouse to the fortress of Firkas in oder to close the harbour.
During the Turkish occupation the lighthouse fell into disrepair and was eventually rebuilt between 1824 and 1832 in the form of a minaret. The modern lighthouse is often referred to as ' Egyptian' because it was built during a time where Crete was occupied by Egyptian troops who were supporting the weakening Ottoman Empire against the rebelious Cretans.
The base of the lighthouse is still the original Venetian base although the Lion of St. Marc which was carved there has long gone.
The 'Egyptian' lighthouse was leaning badly due to bombings during WWII and earthquakes but it was extensively renovated in 2005 and now looks as good as new.
The lighthouse is located at the end of a long mole that protects the Venetian harbour from the sea. It is well worth walking all the way to the end of it as you get splendid views from the harbour.
Unfortunately the lighthouse itself is closed so you can't go up the tower.
source
In one, rare, occasion the only thing I had to do is take a look out of my hotel room's window! It is not the usual thing to happen though, so if you don't find lodging with direct harbour view don't get disappointed. There are so many wonderful accommodations without view that are only a couple of minutes away!
Getting a boat for a ride gives an alternative perspective and a lot of fresh sea breeze! This time it was a small sailing boat that took us along but any boat will do :)
Usually the main subject was the construction itself but some times I used it as a background for something different. Like this shooting I did for the magazine's cover! Dealing with models and stylists and make up artists and all the fuss that comes along, is not my strong suit but that shooting was quite "painless". Maybe the scenery helped a bit :)
And of course sunset and dusk have their own share in this collection. Beloved time of the day that can add grace even into much less appealing subjects, let alone in this beauty!
The first picture of the post is my contribution to 
Unless stated otherwise, all the pictures and the words are mine.
Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.
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