Taşköprü (translated to Stone bridge) is a combined regulator dam and bridge located in

Beyşehir Beyşehir () is a large town and district of Konya Province in the Akdeniz region of Turkey. The town is located on the southeastern shore of Lake Beyşehir and is marked to the west and the southwest by the steep lines and forests of the Ta ...

district of

Konya Province Konya Province ( tr, ), in southwest Central Anatolia, is the largest province of Turkey. The Province, provincial Capital (political), capital is the city of Konya. Its traffic code is 42. The Kızılören solar power plant in Konya will be ...

, central Turkey. It was constructed as a

flood barrier A flood barrier, surge barrier or storm surge barrier is a specific type of floodgate, designed to prevent a storm surge or spring tide from flooding the protected area behind the barrier. A surge barrier is almost always part of a larger flood p ...

as part of the

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been dev ...

Konya Plain Project Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

on the ground of a ruined 8–10 arched bridge between 1908 and 1914. Its completion was delayed due to repeated flooding at the

Lake Beyşehir Lake Beyşehir ( tr, Beyşehir Gölü; anciently, Carallis or Karallis ( grc, Κάραλλις), or Caralis or Karalis (Κάραλις)) is a large freshwater lake in Isparta and Konya provinces in southwestern Turkey. It is located at around and ...

. The dam was commissioned by

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: ** Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the countr ...

Ottoman Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

Grand Vizier

Mehmed Ferid Pasha Mehmed Ferid Pasha ( tr, Avlonyalı Ferit Paşa or Avlonyalı Mehmet Ferit Paşa) (1851, Yanya, Ottoman Empire (modern-day Ioannina, Greece) – 1914, Sanremo, Kingdom of Italy) was an Ottoman statesman. He served as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman ...

Vlorë Vlorë ( , ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the third most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surrounded by the foot ...

(in office 1903–1908), ( tr, Avlonyalı Ferid Paşa). Regulated water draining off the lake contributed to the rise of the formerly droughty and quaggy

Konya Plain The Konya Plain is a plain in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey, associated with the Konya Province. It is a flat plain (a height of 900–1050 m) that covers the majority of Konya Basin and constitutes the main part of the Central Anat ...

into a "granary". Taşköprü is situated over the Beyşehir-Soğla-Apa Canal close to the Lake Beyşehir. The -long and -wide

ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitr ...

-masonry combined dam-bridge structure has two level of 15 arches and

floodgates Floodgates, also called stop gates, are adjustable gates used to control water flow in flood barriers, reservoir, river, stream, or levee systems. They may be designed to set spillway crest heights in dams, to adjust flow rates in sluices and ...

. The bridge was initially open to motorized traffic. After the building of a new road bridge west of it, Taşköprü is used today as a pedestrian bridge only. With effect on July 12, 1980, the historic monumental structure was put under protection by the Cultural and Natural Heritage Protection Board.

References

Dams in Konya Province Arch bridges in Turkey Dams completed in 1914 Bridges completed in 1914 1914 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Pedestrian bridges in Turkey Beyşehir District Ottoman bridges in Turkey Stone bridges in Turkey {{Asia-dam-stub