The Küçükçekmece Bridge (), also known as the Küçükçekmece Mimar Sinan Bridge, is a

stone arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side, and partiall ...

Küçükçekmece Küçükçekmece (; meaning “small-drawer”, from much earlier ''Rhegion'' (Greek: Ρήγιον) and ''Küçükçökmece as “little breakdown''" or “''little depression''”, in more ancient times just as Bathonea), is a municipality and d ...

district of

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey. It was built by Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan and was completed in 1560.

History

A stone bridge, which was built in 558 by

Eastern Roman emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised sovereign authority are ...

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

(reigned 527–565), stood on the place of the Ottoman bridge. A new masonry bridge was later built on the same place by Byzantine emperor

Basil I Basil I, nicknamed "the Macedonian" (; 811 – 29 August 886), was List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor from 867 to 886. Born to a peasant family in Macedonia (theme), Macedonia, he rose to prominence in the imperial court after gainin ...

(r. 867–886). The historic Byzantine bridge was demolished over the time following earthquakes and invasions. The Ottoman bridge was built by the chief architect

Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan (; , ; – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha (title), Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman Empire, Ottoman architect, engineer and mathematician for sultans Suleiman ...

(c. 1488/1490–1588) during the reign of

Ottoman Sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

(r. 1520–1566).

Characteristics

The Küçükçekmece Bridge is located at southeaster shore of the

Lake Küçükçekmece Lake Küçükçekmece () is a lagoon located between the Küçükçekmece, Esenyurt and Avcılar districts of the European portion of Istanbul Province, northwestern Turkey. The lake is neighbored in the south by state road D.100 and in the nort ...

on the mouth of a creek, which flows between the Lake Küçükçekmece and

Marmara Sea The Sea of Marmara, also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, is a small inland sea entirely within the borders of Turkey. It links the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea via the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, separating Turkey's E ...

, and is situated in south-north direction. The stone bridge has 13 arches at length and is in average wide. Its height varies between . It runs through an islet, which is used as an urban park, in its halfway. The asymmetric bridge's highest place is at north, where the biggest arch is situated as the last arch of the bridge.

Restorations

It underwent restorations in 1735 and 1861. During World War II years, the bridge was widened. In 1996, it was restored by the Metropolitan Municipality within a project approved through the Board of Preservation of Cultural and Natural Assets of Istanbul. Latest restoration of the historic bridge was completed in 2008 after three-year work, which cost 1.3 million (approx. US$0.85 million). The restoration revealed also that the bridge has 13 arches instead of 12 as known before.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kucukcekmece Bridge Arch bridges in Turkey Stone bridges in Turkey Mimar Sinan buildings Bridges completed in the 16th century Buildings and structures completed in 1560 Transport infrastructure completed in the 1560s Ottoman bridges in Turkey Buildings and structures in Istanbul Former road bridges in Turkey Pedestrian bridges in Turkey Küçükçekmece