To the north of the harbor of the city of Paphos is a ruined ancient fortress. Its name Saranta Kolones literally means "castle of 40 columns", which is true, given that 40 ancient granite pillars were used in the structure.

It is believed that the castle was built at the end of the 7th century to protect the port and the city from the Arab conquerors, although many documents say that the Lusignan built this castle at the beginning of the 13th century. The castle was surrounded by a fortress wall, fortified with 8 towers and a moat. The entrance on the east side of the castle could only be reached by a large wooden bridge spanning the moat. The building itself was a yard with an area of ​​35 sq.m., surrounded by walls with 4 towers at the corners. On the eastern side there was a fifth horseshoe-shaped tower, under which, in fact, the gates of the castle were located.

There were huge platforms on each side of the courtyard, on which arches supported the second floor. At one time, the castle struck with its splendor, but, unfortunately, an earthquake in 1223 destroyed it.