BITS ‘N’ PIECES
Fatima (R.A) went to the Prophet (S.A.W) complaining about the bad effect of the stone hand-mill on her hand. She heard that the Prophet had received a few slave girls. But (when she came there) she did not find him, so she mentioned her problem to ‘Aisha (R.A). When the Prophet came, ‘Aisha informed him about that. ‘Ali added, “So the Prophet came to us when we had gone to bed. We wanted to get up (on his arrival) but he said, ‘Stay where you are.” Then he came and sat between me and her and I felt the coldness of his feet on my abdomen. He said, “Shall I direct you to something better than what you have requested? When you go to bed say ‘Subhan Allah’ thirty-three times, ‘Alhamdulillah’ thirty-three times, and Allahu Akbar’ thirty-four times, for that is better for you than a servant.”
Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 64, Number 274
The Tourlitis Lighthouse in Andros Town, Greece, stands on an islet. It has illuminated the route of seamanship for more than 120 years. It was constructed in 1887 and first went functional on January 1, 1897. It has a height of 7 meters, a focal height of 36 meters with the luminescence of 11 nautical miles.
With an aura that evokes another world and time, the Tourlitis Lighthouse is still credited today for advancing maritime navigation for Greece’s port city of Andros. The Lighthouse was destroyed in World War II by the Germans, only to be rebuilt and reintroduced as the country’s first automated lighthouse.
Across from the captivating Venetian castle of Andros, the Lighthouse conjures a sense of wonder and wizardry
Situated 200 meters out to sea, the Lighthouse is the only structure of its kind in Europe to be built on such a rock formation. Its construction required ten years of work, completed by an able, seemingly amphibious team of Greek builders, who managed to create a carved stone staircase in the middle of the ocean. On New Year’s Day in 1897, it was ready for operation, and began to illuminate the seas of the Mediterranean.
The Lighthouse successfully lit the way for ships traveling for nearly fifty years before it met an untimely fate. Neither an unwieldy sorcerer nor a hot-tempered sea dragon destroyed the castle; rather, it was German bombs, which left nothing behind other than ruins and a scaffold tower in its wake.
A half-century later, Greek oil tycoon Alexandros Goulandris decided to wield some magic of his own. Seeking to celebrate the memory of his deceased daughter Violanda, Goulandris funded the rebuilding of the Lighthouse and dedicated it in her name. Opened in 1994, the present Tourlitis Lighthouse is a replica of the original, serving not only as an enchanting beacon to behold, but an everlasting token of a father’s love.