Lighthouses of Türkiye: İzmir

Prior to World War I (1914-18) the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire had for centuries controlled most of the Middle East and (for varying amounts of time) North Africa and Southeast Europe. Following the war the Empire was partitioned by the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres and after a period of turmoil and warfare the Republic of Türkiye (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti in Turkish) was established in 1923. The country was historically called Turkey but in 2022 the Turkish government informed the United Nations that it prefers the official spelling Türkiye to be used in English. The Directory uses the spelling Türkiye in its descriptions but retains Turkish as the adjective form and preserves the more familiar spelling Turkey on the index page. Most of Türkiye (97%) occupies the broad peninsula of Anatolia (Asia Minor) between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea; the remaining 3% is the region of East Thrace at the southeastern corner of Europe. Türkiye is divided into 81 provinces (iller). This page includes Anatolian Türkiye's lighthouses on the central Aegean coast in İzmir (Smyrna) Province. Since the 1920s the Turkish language has been written in a Latin script; a distinctive feature of the alphabet is that the dotted (İ and i) and dotless (I and ı) forms of the letter I are different letters. The Turkish phrase for a lighthouse is fener (plural fenerler) or deniz feneri ("sea lantern"). Ada or adası is an island, yarımada is a peninsula, kaya is a rock or reef, burnu is a cape, burun ("nose") is a headland, körfez is a gulf, koy is a bay or inlet, boğaz is a strait, nehir is a river, and liman is a harbor. In Turkish the Aegean Sea is called Ege Denizi. Lighthouses in Türkiye are operated by the Directorate General of Coastal Safety (Kıyı Emniyeti Genel Müdürlüğü, KEGM). ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume N of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 113. General Sources Seyir Yardımcıları (Navigational Aids) Information on major lighthouses posted by the Directorate General. Online List of Lights - Turkey Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas. Many photos for this coast are by Eckhard Meyer. Leuchtfeuer an der türkischen Mittelmeerküste Photos of 17 Mediterranean coast lighthouses posted by Bernd Claußen. Lighthouses in Turkey Photos by various photographers available from Wikimedia. World of Lighthouses - Turkey Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net. Europäische Leuchttürme auf historischen Postkarten Historic postcard images posted by Klaus Huelse (Asiatic Türkiye is included on this page of European lighthouses). GPSNauticalCharts Navigational chart information for the eastern Aegean Sea.

Değirmen Burnu Light, Foça, August 2017 Google Maps photo by Christian Bosman

Seferihisar District Lighthouse

* Sığacık Limanı Date unknown. Active (privately maintained?); focal plane about 12 m (39 ft); green light, pattern unknown. Approx. 9 m (30 ft) round tower atop a square concete tower. Lighthouse painted white with one narrow green horizontal band. Selim Ay's 2022 photo is at right, Serkan İgüs has a distant view, the light is at the far right in Yilmaz Kokcu's photo and Google has a distant satellite view. NGA has confused this light with another light in the harbor. Located on the main breakwater at Sığacık. Accessible by walking the pier. Admiralty N4661.55; NGA 19998.5. Urla District Lighthouse Teke Burnu Date unknown. Active; focal plane 38 m (125 ft); three white flashes every 15 s. 8 m (26 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower, painted white, standing next to a small concrete equipment shelter. Trabas has a distant and fuzzy 2020 view and Google has only an indistinct satellite view. Located on a promontory on the south side of the Karaburan Peninsula. Site status unknown. Admiralty N4661; NGA 19996. Çeşme District Lighthouses Bozalan Burnu Date unknown. Active; focal plane 33 m (108 ft); two white flashes every 5 s. 8 m (26 ft) square pyramidal skeletal tower, painted white, standing next to a small concrete equipment shelter. Trabas has a distant 2020 view and Google has an indistinct satellite view. Located on a promontory on the east side of the entrance to the bay of Alaçatı. Site status unknown. Admiralty N4659; NGA 19988.

Sığacık Limanı Light, Sığacık, June 2022 Google Maps photo by Selim Ay

Sügünkaya (Fener Adası, Pasha Islet) (1) 1863(?). Inactive. 8 m (26 ft) square masonry tower attached to a 1-story masonry keeper's house. The keeper's house is unroofed and in ruins. Entire lighthouse painted white. The tower appears to have been covered with concrete or stucco. The active light (focal plane 43 m (141 ft); red flash every 5 s) is on a 9 m (30 ft) square skeletal tower. Christos Kazantzoglou's photo is at right, Trabas has a 2020 photo, Warren Pollock has a view from the sea, another view from the sea is available, and Google has a satellite view. Located on an island in the narrowest passage of the strait between the Turkish mainland and the Greek island of Chios, about 8 km (5 mi) southwest of Çeşme. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Active light: Admiralty N4658; NGA 19984. Keleyeri (Kaloyeri) (2) Date unknown. Active; focal plane 9 m (30 ft); white flash every 5 s. 9 m (30 ft) round barbell-shaped tower, upper half painted black and lower half yellow, mounted on a round concrete base. Google has a satellite view. Trabas has a 2014 view of the former light, a round cylindrical concrete tower with gallery mounted on a square stone pier, and Ahiles Rodriges has a closeup. Located on a reef off the entrance to Çeşme. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty N4656; NGA 19980. * Çeşme Körfezi (Fener Burnu) Date unknown. Active; focal plane 10 m (33 ft); white flash every 3 s. 4 m (14 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower painted white with a narrow black horizontal band. Trabas has a 2014 photo, a 2023 closeup is available, and Google has a satellite view. Located on a promontory sheltering the west side of Çeşme harbor. Site appears open, tower closed. Admiralty N4657; NGA 19976. Ufak Ada Date unknown. Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 10 m (33 ft) square white skeletal tower. Google has a satellite view. Located on an island in the center of Ildır Bay north of the Çeşme peninsula. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty N4655.5 NGA 19970.

Old and new Sügünkaya Lights, Alaçatı, March 2020 Google Maps photo by Christos Kazantzoglou

Karaburun District Lighthouses

* Sarpıncık Karaburun (Kara Burnu) 1938. Active; focal plane 97 m (318 ft); four white flashes every 20 s. 13 m (46 ft) round cylindrical concrete tower with gallery and four large ribs. Lighthouse painted white with four narrow black horizontal bands. 1-story masonry keeper's house, painted white with a red tile roof. A portion of Burak Büyükbayraktar's drone view is at right, Ali İhsan Eren has a 2017 photo, a 2018 closeup is available, Trabas has a distant 2020 view from the sea, Berk Öncü has a closeup street view, and Google has a satellite view. Very similar to Sivrice Feneri (see below). This Karaburun (Black Cape) is the tip of the peninsula projecting into the Aegean northeast of the Greek island of Chios. Located on a steep bluff at the end of the peninsula, 4 km (2.5 mi) west of Sarpıncık. Accessible by road. Site open, tower closed. . Admiralty N4630; NGA 19896. Saip Adası (Eski Saip) Date unknown. Active; focal plane 25 m (82 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 10 m (33 ft) square pyramidal white skeletal tower mounted on a concrete base. Google has a satellite view. Located on a small island off the northwest corner of the Karaburan peninsula. Accessible only by boat. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty N4621; NGA 19836. * Mordoğan East Breakwater Date unknown. Active; focal plane 8 m (26 ft); red flash every 5 s. 6 m (20 ft) round white concrete tower with a narrow red horizontal band. Engin Almali has a 2018 photo, Göztepeli Serdar also has a photo, the light is in the center of a photo of both breakwater lighthouses, a sunset 2023 photo also shows both lighthouses, and Google has a satellite view. Located at the end of the main breakwater of Mordoğan, a fishing port on the east side of the Karaburun Peninsula. Accessible by walking the pier. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty N4621.45; NGA 19837.3.

Karaburan Light, Sarpıncık, February 2019 Google Maps drone view by Burak Büyükbayraktar'

* Mordoğan West Breakwater

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 8 m (26 ft); green flash every 5 s. 6 m (20 ft) round white concrete tower with a narrow green horizontal band. The light is at the far left of a photo of both breakwater lighthouses, a sunset 2023 photo also shows both lighthouses, and Google has a satellite view. Located at the end of the west (inner) breakwater of Mordoğan. Accessible by walking the pier. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty N4621.4; NGA 19837.2.

İzmir City Lighthouses

Turkey's largest city on its Aegean coast, İzmir has a population approaching 3 million. The city is built in a semicircle around the narrow head of the Gulf of İzmir. The easiest and most pleasant way to travel from one side of the city to the other is by ferry across the bay. Modern İzmir is the successor to the ancient Greek city of Smyrna.

* Guzelbahçe (Güzelbaçe) 1992. Active; focal plane 14 m (46 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 10 m (33 ft) round barbell-shaped metal or fiberglass tower, painted white with two narrow black horizontal bands. Bora Taştan's 2020 photo is at right, Cenk Ozcan has a 2016 photoGökçe Mutlu has a closeup photo, and Google has a satellite view. Located at the end of the breakwater mole of Güzelbahçe, a town on the south side of the Gulf of İzmir about 25 km (15 mi) west of downtown İzmir. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty N4622.7; NGA 19871. * Üçkuyular Pier Date unknown. Active (privately maintained); focal plane 13 m (43 ft); two red flashes every 5 s. Light mounted on a pierhead building. The light is probably on the red post seen in a photo by Yakup Öndeş and Google has a satellite view of the building but the light is not seen in Arslan Karadakovan's 2016 photo. Located on the Üçkuyular ferry pier on the south side of the Gulf of İzmir. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty N4625.6; NGA 19874.1. * Konak Pier Date unknown. Active (privately maintained); focal plane 12 m (39 ft); two yellow flashes every 5 s. Light mounted on a pierhead building. Trabas has a 2016 photo and Google has a satellite view of the building. The first floor of the building is a café. Located on the Konak pier on the south side of the Gulf of İzmir. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty N4627.3; NGA 19875. * Karşıyaka Pier Date unknown. Active (privately maintained); focal plane 10 m (33 ft); two yellow flashes every 5 s. Light mounted on the Karşıyaka Ferry Terminal on the İzmir waterfront. Trabas has a closeup 2016 photo, César Villarreal has a photo, and Google has a satellite view of the building. Located on the Karşıyaka pier on the north side of the Gulf of İzmir. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty N4628.58; NGA 19893. * Aksoy East Pier (Bostanlı) Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); two red flashes every 5 s. Light mounted on the Bostanlı Ferry Terminal on the İzmir waterfront. The light is perched atop the building in Hakan Erisen's 2022 photo (zoom in), Kubilay Yıldız also has a photo of the building, and Google has a satellite view of the building. Located on the Bostanlı pier on the north side of the Gulf of İzmir. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty N4628.57; NGA 19894.1.

Guzelbahçe Light, Guzelbahçe, September 2020 Google Maps photo by Bora Taştan

Foça District Lighthouses

** Değirmen Burnu (Foça) (2) Date unknown (station established 1887). Active; focal plane 17 m (56 ft); white flash every 5 s. 9 m (30 ft) round hourglass-shaped metal or fiberglass tower, painted white with a narrow black horizontal band. A 1-story masonry keeper's house, painted white with a red tile roof, has been incorporated into a restaurant. Christian Bosman has a 2017 closeup photo (also seen at the top of this page), Trabas has Meyer's 2004 photo, Ferhat Safran has a 2021 view from the sea, and Google has a satellite view. The modern city of Foça is built near the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Phocaea. Located at the tip of a peninsula sheltering the west side of the harbor of Foça. Site open, tower closed. Site manager: Foça Fener Restaurant . ARLHS TUR-006; Admiralty N4620; NGA 19844. Oğlak Adası (2) Date unknown (station established 1887). Active; focal plane 25 m (82 ft); white flash every 5 s. 6 m (20 ft) round concrete tower painted white with one narrow black horizontal band. The current light and the ruins of the historic light station can be seen in Google's satellite view. Located at the western end of a small island at the northern entrance to the bay of Foça. Accessible only by boat. Site status unknown. Admiralty N4618; NGA 19840. Aslan Burnu 1992. Active; focal plane 40 m (131 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 8 m (26 ft) round hourglass-shaped metal or fiberglass tower, painted white with two narrow black horizontal bands. Ferhat Safran has the 2021 photo, at right, Trabas has Meyer's 2004 photo, and Google has a satellite view. Located on a prominent cape on the east side of the entrance to the Gulf of İzmir, about 7 km (4.5 mi) north of Foça. Site status unknown. Admiralty N4617.9; NGA 19838. Aliağa District Lighthouses Ilıca Burnu (Aliağa) (2) Date unknown (station established 1984). Active; focal plane 50 m (164 ft); white flash every 5 s. 8 m (26 ft) round concrete tower, painted white with a narrow black horizontal band. Google has a satellite view. A huge wind turbine dwarfs the lighthouse. NGA lists a framework tower at this station. Located on a prominent cape about 9 km (5.5 mi) northwest of Aliağa. Site status unknown. Admiralty N4616.3; NGA 19822. Tuzla Burnu (Aliağa East Entrance) (2) Date unknown. Active; focal plane 8 m (26 ft); very quick white flash every 1 s. 6 m (20 ft) round barbell-shaped tower colored white with a narrow red horizontal band. Google has a satellite view. NGA lists a skeletal tower with a green flashing light. Located on the east side of the entrance to the bay of Aliağa. Site status unknown. Admiralty N4616.6; NGA 19824.1.

Aslan Burnu Light, Foça, August 2021 Google Maps photo by Ferhat Safran

Dikili District Lighthouse

* Bademli Burnu (Adatepe Burnu)

Date unknown. Active; focal plane 31 m (102 ft); nine quick flashes every 15 s, white or red depending on direction. 7 m (23 ft) round barbell-shaped metal or fiberglass tower, painted white. Izzettin Ağcayazı has a closeup photo, Nazım Alagöz has a photo, and Google has a satellite view. This light marks the southern entrance to the Midilli (Mytilini) Strait separating the Turkish mainland from the Greek island of Lesvos. Located on a cape about 3 km (2 mi) southwest of Bademli. Site open, tower closed. Admiralty N4615.6; NGA 19808.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: North: Southern Marmora | South: Southwestern Türkiye | West: Greece Aegean Islands

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Posted May 5, 2007. Checked and revised June 11, 2025. Lighthouses: 22. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.