Medieval fortress Izzeddin is considered a monument with conservatory status. It was built by Reuf pasha in 1872 on the ruins of a castle built by the first Turks conquerors in 1646 at the end of the Venetian occupation. Izzeddin fortress was of outmost importance for the defense of the port. It was named after sultan’s Abdulaziz first son Izzeddin,
Izzeddin fortress has also been used as prison for political prisoners. Eleftherios Venizelos , a great Greek politician and former prime minister, has also been imprisoned in the fortress in the beginning of his political action. During the dictatorship of general Theodoros Pangalos (1925-1926) many political dissidents were imprisoned in Izzeddin fortress and after the end of his dictatorship Pangalos was imprisoned in the fortress himself.
The prison was initially intended for common long-term convicts. The building of the prison is today open to the public. The narrow cells , the isolation rooms and the railed windows show how horrible the imprisonment was for the inmates.
It is said that many inmates were immobilized with chain leg shackles so that they couldn’t escape.
Escape was impossible anyway, as the place was strictly guarded. The guards' watchtowers still stand today. In 1948 the first leftish political dissidents were transferred to Gyaros , a small island that served as a place for exile. Even though time has passed, history has marked such places forever.