The oldest bridge in the world?
Recently I came across some interesting information about the oldest bridge in use.
Guiness world records - Oldest Bridge
The bridge is said to be erected in year 850 BC and used by Homer himself *(Lay, Ways of the World: A History of the World’s Roads (…), 1992, p. 254). It was built in ancient Smyrna, nowadays Izmir.
Well, I’m really skeptic about this 850 BC date, because it’s extremely difficult to verify, but since me and my partner were planning a journey to Aegean coast in Turkey we decided to visit that place and take a look by ourselves.
After few hours of walking along the river Meles (which is completely regulated and fairly shallow now) and asking the locals about the bridge (who were really helpful and excited that we came here just after reading a post on Turkish blog), we finally found it.
Source: own photograph
The bridge itself wasn’t easy to find because it have been used as a base for a 6-lane road and right now it’s hidden between the new concrete bridge and channel walls. Thanks to a Kurdish land owner, we were able to make some photos.
What are the facts about Kervan Köprüsü?
This is a single arch bridge made out of tightly fitted stone blocks. The dimensions of the bridge are difficult to measure, because it’s only partially visible, although the height of the arch is approx. 5 meters with 10 meters span.
Every second stone in the arch is white, which gives decorative effect. There are also white stones on both sides of the bridge.
What did we learn from historic sources?
The bridge was built for helping camel caravans go across the river Meles and we have numerous photographs and figures depicting such scenes. Also, I have read about how the bridge was used in 1830’s from English traveler C. B. Elliott.
Leaving the city, we were stopped by the Turkish douanier at the Caravan bridge, where numerous caravans of camels daily halt previous to their entrance into the town. Though Smyrna be not a ville franche, the government prescribes that articles transported from the city into the interior shall be subject to examination, no less than those which enter it. The exhibition of our firman, however, prevented much trouble, and we pursued our journey without being even solicited for a present; a fact which redounds to the credit of Turkish custom-officers.
(…)
Here several strings of camels met us, on their way to the city. Each is fastened by a halter to the back of its predecessor, and the foremost is similarly attached to a donkey: one of these little ani mals is required to precede every ten or twelve camels, experience proving that they will not move without a leader, however humble its grade. They are heavily laden with a bag on each side, and travel readily for twelve hours a day, neither finding nor seeking repose.
C. B. Elliot, Travels in the Three Great Empires (…), p. 50
One of the earliest depictions I have found comes from Luigi Meyer, a 18th century painter.
Source: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1106719/view-of-smyrna-bridge-etching-mayer-luigi/
Another one is a print from journals of Charles Fellows, a British archeologist and traveler, made probably in 1838.
Source: FELLOWS, Charles. A journal written during an excursion in Asia Minor, London, John Murray, MDCCCXXXIX [=1839]. http://eng.travelogues.gr/item.php?view=43173
Source: ESTOURMEL, Joseph d’, Comte. Album du Journal d’un Voyage en Orient, Paris, Imprimeurs Unis, 1848. http://eng.travelogues.gr/item.php?view=39980
Source: BUSCH, Moritz, Dr. L'Orient Pittoresque, Publication Artistique dessinée d'après nature (…), Trieste, Lloyd Autrichien, 1865.
Source: http://www.erolsasmaz.com/?oku=550
Later in 19th century the bridge became a well known sightseeing monument and we have a lot of historic post cards like this one from 1899.
Source: http://izmir-hatirasi.blogspot.se/2011/11/
Source: http://www.erolsasmaz.com/?oku=550
Here on this 1919 photo we see that the north side of the bridge was renovated and took the shape that we can see now in 2017.
Finally, to conclude this post, a real gem; stereoscopic photograph of the bridge, dated probably to the turn of 19th/20th centuries.
Stereo photography of Smyrne bridge
Sources I used:
M. G. Lay, Ways of the World: A History of the World’s Roads and of the Vehicles That Used Them, 1992
C. B. Elliot, Travels in the Three Great Empires of Austria, Russia, and Turkey: A voyage in the Archipelago and along the southern coast of Asia Minor, with a visit to the Apocalyptic churches, and travels in Syria, Palestine, and the country east of Jordan, 1838
http://www.dunyabulteni.net/haber/226733/izmir-kervan-koprusu
http://www.erolsasmaz.com/?oku=550
http://wowturkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3234&start=280
http://eng.travelogues.gr/tag.php?view=14052
