Devegeçidi Bridge

38°03′12″N 40°04′09.3″E / 38.05333°N 40.069250°E / 38.05333; 40.069250 (Devegeçidi Bridge)CrossesDevegeçidi streamLocaleDiyarbakır Province, Southeastern Anatolia Region, TurkeyOther name(s)Kurdish: Pira Neqeba DeveyanCharacteristicsDesignArch bridgeMaterialStone masonry and rubbleTotal length119.17 m (391.0 ft)^[1]Width6.40 m (21.0 ft)^[1]Longest span13.70 m (44.9 ft)^[1]No. of spans7Piers in water3HistoryConstruction end1218Location

Devegeçidi Bridge, also known as Palu Bridge,^[2] Kara Köprü and Sultan Murad IV Köprüsü is a disused stone bridge of seven arches across the Devegeçidi stream 20 km (12 mi) north of Diyarbakır, in southeast Turkey, on the road to Ergani.^[1][3][a] There is a separate bridge across the same stream that is often also called the Devegeçidi Bridge 13.5 km (8.4 mi) to the east, near the stream's confluence with the Tigris river.^[3]

There are three inscriptions on the southern portion of the bridge, one of which indicates that it was built in 1218 by the Artuqid ruler Melik Salih Nâsıreddin Mahmud.^[1] The bridge is made entirely of basalt blocks, some finely dressed others less so and has seven pointed arches, of which the southern two are the broadest.^[1] Deve Geçidi Bridge was last repaired in 1972.^[1]

The bridge became notorious as an execution site during the Armenian genocide; it is estimated at least 10,000 Armenians from Erzurum Vilayet were executed nearby.^[2]

Footnotes

References

Sources