On the eastern side of Gorr run the Straights of Gorr - a busy shipping lane. Ships carrying their wares from the Spice Islands and Stone Town venture off to Barga, Eastgate and on to Avalonia and Mitgardia, or eastwards toward Berigora and on to Nocturnus.

In the straights there are many small rocks and islets on which ships can run aground, as well as pirates looking to prey on bloated cargo vessels. The Emir of Gorr, in his infinite wisdom, decided to encourage trade and deter piracy by building a series of watchtowers along the coast.

The grandest of these was built from the famed red sandstone mined near Qarkyr and is known as "Ra'ad Twur", translating as the "Red Tower". It's fiery beacon burns from the Kaliphlin oil and can be seen for many miles out to sea.

Tending to this saving ray of light is a solitary lighthouse keeper. The camel caravans come from Stone Town once a month to bring much needed supplies, but other than that he only has the vastness of the empty ocean to keep him company.

Thanks for looking.

It is so clean looking!

I love the colors. It reminds me of an american lighthouse with the striped pattern going up the tower (which is fitting since it IS a lighthouse!).

I would be tempted to add a bit more variety to the rocky base. I know the MOC is cut off when it hits the edge, but I am trying to figure out how one gets from the sea up to the lighthouse! Is there a dock and some stairs or ladder off the edge of the MOC?

Wow! That moc is stunning! The colours is really nice! The top of the tower with it´s golden roof is very eyecathing and nice!

Absolutely beautiful! Wow. Love the SNOT water too.

Wahil Musca,

your business ventures are paying off! I am happy you can afford such a beautiful tower to guard the sea and guide traveling ships. Very nicely done, the red sandstone from Qarkyr is marvelous material, which throughout the centuries my family has not managed to get hold of much. I especially like the door, I am tempted to include such a design in one of my architectural projects.

Abū Alī

That is so awesome! I really like the top and the rock texture. I just noticed how you made an anchor shaped window opening. Awesome!

Edited December 9, 201113 yr by Captain BeerBeard

Well, this tower is definitely one of the best of the our guild!

Such a bold colour choice, but looks quite striking, well done.

What a beauty! I'm sure our ships will have no trouble spotting this, even without the fire lit!

Wahil your tower amazes me, such beauty I'm sure all sailors and traders will be very pleased to see this and help guide them. Also the decorative windows and doors are fantastic Well done

P.S. I'm guessing the cut off bit is where the jetty would be, I've done something similar with a second watchtower which I'll get photos of and post tomorrow.

Kcaj

Awesome! One of the greatest towers so far! The colouring was of a great choice! Congratulations!

What a shiny tower, great job

This is stunning, the colour scheme is perfect, the SNOT rock base, the brick built window, small details like the panels in the door, everything is great. Totally agree with SkaForHire that this is definitely the best of the Kaliphlin towers

Thanks everyone for the comments! I am glad it has been well-received

  On 12/9/2011 at 6:08 PM, ZCerberus said:

It is so clean looking!

I love the colors. It reminds me of an american lighthouse with the striped pattern going up the tower (which is fitting since it IS a lighthouse!).

I would be tempted to add a bit more variety to the rocky base. I know the MOC is cut off when it hits the edge, but I am trying to figure out how one gets from the sea up to the lighthouse! Is there a dock and some stairs or ladder off the edge of the MOC?

Thanks ZCerberus! If you look at the picture second from the bottom, you will see the path (tiles) heading toward the door. This path carries on the left of that picture onto the rocky promenade/causeway which attaches this small area to the mainland. No-one would be foolish enough to access it from the sea, as the rocks are far too perilous to traverse! I had some difficultly due to the restrictive 32x32 limit on the size - I would have liked to have shown more of this causeway but due to the limit I couldn't do it.

  On 12/9/2011 at 6:35 PM, Christoph said:

Wahil Musca,

your business ventures are paying off! I am happy you can afford such a beautiful tower to guard the sea and guide traveling ships. Very nicely done, the red sandstone from Qarkyr is marvelous material, which throughout the centuries my family has not managed to get hold of much. I especially like the door, I am tempted to include such a design in one of my architectural projects.

Abū Alī

Thank you, Abū Alī. Fortunately the Emir gets a preferential rate at the Qarkyr sandstone mines. My architect says that the door design can be used by anyone - he has no claim over it!

  On 12/9/2011 at 11:26 PM, CptMugwash said:

Wahil your tower amazes me, such beauty I'm sure all sailors and traders will be very pleased to see this and help guide them. Also the decorative windows and doors are fantastic Well done

P.S. I'm guessing the cut off bit is where the jetty would be, I've done something similar with a second watchtower which I'll get photos of and post tomorrow.

Kcaj

Thanks for the comment. The tower isn't actually on an island though - there is no jetty! If the size limit wasn't 32x32 I would have shown more of the causeway which connects the tower to the mainland. Look forward to your second watchtower!

Brilliant detail on the door, door frame and window.

As always, The Emir chose wisely in his use of the red sandstone. The anchor window is a lovely detail, and the base is very nicely rendered on both land and sea.

Many lives and ships have been saved from the treacherous coast by this tower, and for that we give thanks, and lower insurance premiums. We will be pleased to send the Emir a complimentary shipment of Fresnel lenses from our new Glass Manufactory, in the hope it may save more lives at sea.

Yours Aye,

Rasputin

...so beautifull... bravo

I had seen this tower in your signature, and thought "he must have built this before the contest, because it would have definitely been in competition for the top 6" and lo and behold, it is in the top 6 (7). This is a beautiful tower, I can't believe I didn't comment on it earlier. I love the way it spirals around to the top, and it is a very clean MOC as well. It took me 3 or 4 pages to find this, so I figure this post will also bring it back to the first page.

Congratulations on winning with this beauty!

Congratulations - brilliant design. It's not easy to pull off the round tower in a believable way - love the color.