Vardario Fortress #1389

Description

This fortress served as the city's primary stronghold during the Ottoman era and features an elliptical enclosure connected to the city walls. It incorporates sections of the original Byzantine fortifications, later upgraded by the Turks. Additional sections of the enclosure were constructed during different phases of the Ottoman period. On the eastern side lies the 9th-century Byzantine Anaglyphos (Relief) Tower, named after a walled Hellenistic relief. The site of the fortress was once the western end of the port established by Emperor Constantine the Great (the sea at that time reached what is now Frangon Street), covering a total area of 1 square kilometer.