  thumb|right|the white tower of thessaloniki the white tower of thessaloniki ( lefkos pyrgos), is a monument and museum on the waterfront of the city of thessaloniki, capital of the region of macedonia in northern greece. the present tower replaced an old byzantine fortification which was mentioned around the 12th century and reconstructed by the ottomans to fortify the city's harbour; it became a notorious prison and scene of mass executions during the period of ottoman rule. it was substantially remodeled and its exterior was whitewashed after greece gained control of the city in 1912. it has been adopted as the symbol of the city. ==physical attributes== thumb|right|the white tower in 1912, showing the chemise that surrounded the tower until its demolition in 1917. the white tower takes the form of a cylindrical drum  in diameter with a height of  above ground level, on top of which is a turret  in diameter and  high. some of the embrasures in the outer wall of the tower are reached by a spiral ramp; others are accessed from a central room on each of the six floors. the turret houses a platform with a diameter of , and the platform at the top of the main tower in front of the turret is about  wide. the tower has been altered substantially over the years. early illustrations show that it was originally covered by a conical roof, like similar towers in the yedikule fortress and rumelihisarÄ± fortress in istanbul. until its demolition in 1917, a chemise stood at the foot of the tower, supporting the heavy guns and enclosing an area at least three times the diameter of the main tower. octagonal turrets on the chemise and caponiers at ground level provided flanking fire around the tower. it is unclear whether the chemise was part of the original scheme for the tower or was a later addition.tracy (2000), p.303â307. ==history== thumb|left|view c.1919 the tower, which once guarded the eastern end of the city's sea walls, was for many years attributed to venice, to which the byzantines ceded thessaloniki in 1423. it is now known definitely that the tower was constructed by the ottomans some time after the army of sultan murad ii captured thessaloniki in 1430. until 1912, an inscription in ottoman turkish verse above the door dated the structure to ah 942 (1535â1536). the historian franz babinger speculated that the work was designed by the great ottoman arch
1520s_architecture Buildings_and_structures_in_Thessaloniki Fortifications_in_Greece Greek_culture History_museums_in_Greece Museums_in_Thessaloniki Ottoman_architecture_in_Thessaloniki Towers_in_Greece