The fortress - Aluston - was built in the 6th century by the byzantiants. Originally it's area was about 0.25 hectare. Growing up gradually it turned into a fortified town.
The defensive works of Aluston acquired it's complete form only in the beginning of the XV century. In 1380 - 1390 Genoese who possessed Alushta erected a new wing of the fortified walls with three towers. The area of the fortification was tightly occupied by small houses.
The fortification consisted of two lines - the citadel and the external defensive wall which was like a quadrangle of irregular shape. The preserved and reconstructed round tower Ashaga-Kule closed the defensive wall from the south. The diameter of the tower was 8 meters, it's height - 16 meters. From the north the fortifications were shielded by Chata-Kule (Horned Tower), called so, probably becouse of a merloned parapet. In the centre of the north-eastern defensive line there were a rectangular tower - Orta-Kule (or Middle tower). Only it's remnants are preserved. As excavations showed the fortress was ruined and reconstructed many times during it's history. So was it in X century after the attack of pechenegs (or khasars) tribes in 1239 when the tribes of mongolo-tatars invaded the mountaineous part of the Crimea; in 1475 the Turks seized the fortress, burnt it and after that it was not reconstructed any more.
Adjacent to the fortress narrow streets are the most ancient part of the town. New buildings which appeared in the last years changed the look of this place.
Source from : http://www.crimea.edu
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