Small Defensive Tower (koules)

Location: At the intersection of. And Eleftherias Avenue (today’s Metropolitan A. Kantioti).

Construction year: 19th century.

The Tower (Koules) is a defensive building in the properties of rich landowners, built during the Ottoman period. These tower-houses, dating back to the 18th century, are characteristic of several areas of the Balkan area. They usually have a square plan and are built in contact with the main residence (Oikonomou, Papayannakis, Stoyos, 2013: 26).

From the defensive tower, today only the lower part of a square building with a height of 475 cm and an external dimension of 680 x 682 cm is preserved. The tower was covered by a hemispherical dome and was supported by four half-axles, creating eight acute-pointed Ottoman arches (Mekasis, 2008: 7).

This defensive tower was built in contact with a large 19th-century loggia and it was probably a part of the same property. On the south side there was a second residence of the second half of the 19th century, which today survives in a different form than originally (Oikonomou, Papayannakis & Stoyos, 2013: 26).

Construction materials:

Masonry: Aluminum structure with strong synthetic plaster and two-layer coating (clay and plaster) on the inside.

The walls have a thickness of 98 to 104 cm and inside there are hidden horizontal belayments per 3 m.

Defensive tower: Look (Oikonomou, Papayannakis & Stoyos, 2013: 26).

Entrance: External side with horizontal wooden top and semicircular arc made of bricks. On the inside there is a pinhole bow.

Defensive tower: SE Look (Oikonomou, Papayannakis & Stoyos, 2013: 26).

Dome: It is made of bricks and is covered with Byzantine tiles. On the inside there is a stone staircase leading to the upper part and the roof is covered with stone slabs.(Oikonomou, Papayannakis & Stoyos, 2013: 26-29).

The third towerhouse was located west of the district of Kiaip Ali, where the Agricultural School is now located. [Kaskamanidis, I. (2006)]