Stone Bridge (Adana)
Taşköprü | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 36°59′10″N 35°20′07″E / 36.986111°N 35.335278°E |
Crosses | Seyhan River |
Locale | Adana, Cilicia region, Turkey |
Official name | Taşköprü |
Characteristics | |
Design | arch bridge |
Material | Tufa, marble, spolia |
Total length | 310 m |
Width | 11.4m |
No. of spans | originally 21 arches |
History | |
Construction end | 120–135 AD? |
Statistics | |
Daily traffic | pedestrians (previously also vehicles, until 2007) |
Location | |
Taşköprü (
Among the names used for the bridge during its history are the Saros Bridge, the Bridge of Justinian, the al-Walid Bridge and Taşköprü ("Stone Bridge" in Turkish).[1]
History
Taşköprü carries traces of additions and restorations by several civilizations. The
Some accounts trace the construction to a late 4th-century Roman architect named Auxentius, who also built a bridge in Rome in 384 AD. This attribution is based on an inscription in
The historian
The portion of this masonry [of the piers] which chanced to be below the water and so was constantly battered by its powerful current had, in a space of time beyond reckoning, come to be mostly destroyed. So the whole bridge appeared likely after no long time to fall into the river. It had come to be always the prayer of each man who crossed the bridge that it might remain firm if only during the moment of his crossing. But the Emperor Justinian dug another channel for the river and forced it to change its course temporarily; and then getting the masonry which I have just mentioned free from the water and removing the damaged portions, he rebuilt them without any delay and then returned the river to its former path, which they call the "bed". Thus then were these things done.[4]
The bridge has been restored many times over the centuries. After a restoration in 742, during the
The bridge was repaired several times during the
Adana Ethnography Museum houses an inscription (Inventory Nos. 505 and 506) placed on the bridge after restoration work in 1847, during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I. This states that the bridge needed rebuilding after being in bad condition for a long while.[1] Further restoration work was commissioned by Governor Osman Pasha during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, as recorded by an inscription at the Adana Archeological Museum (Inventory No. 2469). A salname (official yearbook) from the reign of Abdülhamid II explains the status of the bridge and the restorations:
On the mentioned Seyhan River, there is a large, solidly built, orderly bridge of 22 arches. This bridge is a rare sample of elegance and over the course of time had its sidewalks and some of its arches worn out, thus a neat sidewalk with walls has been built to prevent people and animals from falling and being killed. The arches have also been carefully renovated.[1]
When
Architecture
Although a variety of materials have been used throughout the many periods of construction and restoration, the bridge was generally built of tufa, marble and spolia. The eastern section of the bridge in particular bears many marks of the original construction. The bridge was constructed using the wall-filling technique.
The current length of the bridge is 310 metres (1,020 ft).
Engravings published in the accounts of travelers to the Ottoman Empire depict the roadway as too narrow to accommodate two horse carriages side by side.[1] It is thought that the deck was originally no more than 3 metres (9.8 ft) across and was widened in the early 20th century. As a result of the widening work, new arches were added to the downstream side of the bridge.[1] It is unclear when these additions are made, but there are records of an extensive restoration by the State Highway Agency in 1948.[1] After the additions, the width of the roadway was extended to about 8 metres (26 ft) or 8.5 metres (28 ft).[1]
The cobblestone pavement—the subject of many folk songs—was built by Adana
The piers supporting the arches have become quite worn over time.[1] They show several interesting architectural techniques. The bossage technique is visible on the downstream side of the eastern piers. The upstream faces of the piers show stepped cutwaters and footings.[1] These stepped piers are a feature typical of Roman construction.[1] Two of the relieving arches (the fifth and seventh arches from the western end) have their upstream side open but have been filled on the downstream side.[1] The dimensions of the arches all differ due to the complex history of its construction.[1] The upstream faces of the piers now have triangular cutwaters. These were all rebuilt during one of the Ottoman restorations, which accounts for their uniform appearance today.[1]
Present day
In 2007 the bridge was closed to motorized vehicles. Since then, it has become a site for social and cultural events. Surveys in 1996 and 2008 identified the bridge as the location most commonly associated with Adana by its residents. The researchers conjecture that this is more due to its function as a landmark than to widespread knowledge of its history. They propose using the bridge as "a starting point for reclamation of the city's identity".[7]
See also
- List of Roman bridges
- Roman architecture
- Roman engineering
References
Sources
- "Adana Köprüsü taştan..." [Stone-built Adana Bridge...] (in Turkish). Adanadan.biz. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- Gratien, Chris (August 2014). "Migrant Workers in Ottoman Anatolia" (Podcast). Retrieved 17 February 2015.
- Langlois, Victor (1861), Voyage dans la Cilicie et dans les montagnes du Taurus [Travels in Cilicia and the Taurus Mountains] (in French), Duprat
- O’Connor, Colin (1993), Roman Bridges, Cambridge University Press, p. 127 (E28), ISBN 0-521-39326-4
- Saban Ökesli, Duygu; Gürçınar, Yusuf (2012). "An Investigation of Urban Image and Identity: Findings from Adana". Çukurova Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi. 21 (1): 37–52. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- Procopius (1940), "Chapter 5: Buildings in Asia", De Aedificiis [Buildings of Justinian, Book V], Loeb Classical Library edition of Procopius (Volume VII) (in Latin), translated by Henry Bronson Dewing, Loeb, p. 339, retrieved 18 February 2015