Armenistis Lighthouse In Mykonos Island
Armenistis Lighthouse is one of the most well known attractions on the island of Mykonos. The lighthouse was built in 1890 and holds a rather special mechanism which was on exhibition at the Paris International Exhibition, at the time it was constructed. The mechanism was based on an invention of August Fresnel crystals, made exclusively for use in lighthouses. Armenistis Lighthouse was one of the first to be equipped with the pioneering machine for the time. The power of the mechanism was such that it is said that an old man who lived in Tinos opposite the Armenistis, used his light at night to see. The building, in addition to the mechanism, had rooms for the lighthouse keepers, a kitchen, a toilet, auxiliary spaces and an internal cistern. mykonos villas
Today the original mechanism of the Lighthouse is located in the garden of the Maritime Museum of Mykonos and is on display to the public. For its proper operation, 3 to 6 lighthouse keepers were needed who changed shifts with each other. For some years, in addition to the employees themselves, their families also lived in the lighthouse. The shifts were quite difficult, as they were overnight and required great muscular strength since the lighthouse keeper had to lift a weight every two hours, which slowly went down and started the mechanism. However, life in Armenistis was not as difficult as in other lighthouses, since the building is not isolated from the rest of the island. The area of the lighthouse was suitable for hunting and fishing and so the "tenants" of the building provided additional food from nature. According to the testimonies of old lighthouse keepers, several mornings when they went up to the balcony of the lighthouse they found birds, which due to the strong light escaped from their path and crashed into the windows.
Image Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/26/Faro_Armenisti_a_Mykonos.JPG/1024px-Faro_Armenisti_a_Mykonos.JPG
