Farol de Cacilhas

On the arrow of the North-Eastern tip of Casillas (on the map) stands a red steel tower with a height of 12 meters and a diameter of 1.27 meters, built in the late 19th century. The Casillas lighthouse was inaugurated on January 15, 1886. The source of light was an oil lamp( kerosene-caloric lamp) on may 9 of the same year, a steam horn signal was installed on the tower, giving signals during fogs. In 1916, Portugal entered the First world war as an ally of great Britain, formally maintaining neutrality. German vessels were arrested in German ports, and lighthouses were stopped working for security reasons. On December 26, 1918, the lighthouse again began to perform its functions.

In 1925, the lighthouse lamp received four-stage Fresnel lenses with a diameter of 500 mm, and in 1931 the steam horn was replaced by a pneumatic one. It is surprising that the kerosene lantern served faithfully all the first week half of the 20th century, and only in 1957 it was replaced by the electric. The lighthouse ceased operation on may 18, 1978.

.Cape Casillas offers a panoramic view of the Central part of Lisbon.

On the left, you can see two modern buildings that house the headquarters of Portugal's main energy company, EDP-Energias de Portugal. In my last visit to Lisbon in January 2014, these parallelepipeds were not yet available, but the complex has already been commissioned to the customer. I would like to note that during my first acquaintance with the Portuguese capital in the spring of 2012, the city looked rather shabby and run-down.in just 3 years, Lisbon has changed its appearance considerably, and undoubtedly for the better.

The caix do Sodre ferry terminal, from where I got to Casillas.

Bika district, which slopes down from Bayrou ALTU to the river.

The building of the Ministry of the Navy (Ministerio Da Defesa Nacional Marinha), behind it - prasa do Comercio.

And finally, the historic district of Alfama, which is dominated by the huge National Pantheon. To the right, on the beach, the light blue building of Santa Apolonia station, behind it in the distance you can see the tops of the pylons and shrouds of the Vasco da Gama bridge.