Mesi Bridge (, ) is a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

in the village of Mes, about northeast of

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

, in northwestern

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. It is a monument of Postribë culture, turning the site into a tourist attraction with a lot of visitors from all around the world. For foreigners the architecture of the bridge is intriguing with round slick stones and stone plates. The surrounding panorama gives the bridge an even more picturesque view. The Albanian Development Fund invested 13 million ALL so the tourists could step on the bridge and watch it closely because there was no entry way to the bridge. It was built in the 18th century, around 1770, by Kara Mahmud Bushati, the local Ottoman

pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

, and spans the Kir River. The building was divided in 2 phases where the first phase was only the middle arc and the arc near it and the second phase included the other 11 arches. The purpose was to connect the city of

with the city of Drisht and other cities of the northern side. It is long, meters wide, meters high with 13 arches, and is one of the longest examples of an Ottoman bridge in the region. It was built as part of the road that goes up the Kir Valley, eventually to

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

. Today the bridge is at risk, having been damaged over time by devastating floods, which have resulted in floodwaters cutting away at the arches on the right side, causing cracking.

Gallery

File:Puente de Mes, Mes, Albania, 2014-04-18, DD 01.JPG File:Puente de Mes, Mes, Albania, 2014-04-18, DD 04.JPG File:Puente de Mes, Mes, Albania, 2014-04-18, DD 06.JPG File:Puente de Mes, Mes, Albania, 2014-04-18, DD 07.JPG File:Puente de Mes, Mes, Albania, 2014-04-18, DD 08.JPG File:Shkodra – Way to Skreli (W Le Queux).jpg, Mes Bridge, 1906

References

External links

ALBANIA-The Mesi Bridge at Shkodra on the Kir river
Bridges completed in 1770 Ottoman bridges in Albania Buildings and structures in Shkodër Tourist attractions in Shkodër Pedestrian bridges in Albania 1770 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Stone arch bridges {{Albania-bridge-struct-stub Pashalik of Scutari