The castle is accompanied by several myths, one of the most famous is that of the Forty Arches, and is where Charles XII, King of Sweden, is said to have been imprisoned by the Turks.

[citation needed] This is supported by Topography of building materials and methods that suggest the occupation by Byzantine forces continued into the later period of the empire.

[8] During the Ottoman rule, the structures were not adequately preserved, and by 1848 the fortress was in a ruinous state[9] sustaining severe damage from various incursions as well as those provoked by the Russians who occupied the city in the course of the two Russo-Turkish wars in 1828–29 and 1877–78.

Over 20 firefighters[15] with 17 vehicles[16] where at the scene to extinguish the fire, that had engulfed an area of 8 acres[17] It was reported that both the Cathedral of Saint Athanasios and Armenian Church had been in real danger of being lost.

[18] However, only dry vegetation was burned, in part thanks to the good coordination and quick response from firefighters and local volunteers, something Mayor Romylos Hatzigiannoglou, emphasized in his message to those involved.