Ali Pasha was always eager to secure the help and services of western Europeans. He was deferential and generous towards them, gloriously entertaining them in his residences and bequeathing valuable presents to their wives. He employed the French engineer Yaudocourt for two building projects: the Pantokratoras and the Laskara forts. Laskara was part of a broader plan to erect a series of forts along the coast of the Ambracian gulf. It rises 146 m. above sea level, on the top of a hill called Mavrovouni (Black Mountain), just a short driving distance east of Preveza.