摘要: Description　　Balkans had always been attached strategic importance due to its position as outpost area and served as technologic, information and communicational bridge  between Europe and the Ottoman

Description

　　Balkans had always been attached strategic importance due to its position as outpost area and served as technologic, information and communicational bridge  between Europe and the Ottoman Empire. The road alignments connecting Anatolia to the Balkans and Central Europe have always been of particular importance due to the strategic emphasis on Balkans.

　　Uzunköprü (Long Bridge), located approximately 60 km south from the modern city center of Edirne, was built on one of the most challenging passages of Ergene River (in antiquity: Agrianes/Erginus or Riga) in the Balkans. This location is very important as it was a transition point between the Balkans and Anatolia. The bridge constructed by the Architect Muslihiddin between 1427 and 1443 during the reign of the sixth Ottoman Padishah Sultan Murad II along with the epitaph on the bridge is featured to be the longest stone bridge on earth surviving to date with 1392 m length, 174 arches and 6.10 m width. The year of 1443, when the construction was completed, correspond to the pre-classic period of the Ottoman Empire architecture. In this period the Empire built universally well-known superior structures. The architect of the bridge is Muslihiddin, was the chief state architect of the period. Architect Muslihiddin is one of the most important of all medieval architects and at the same time he was the leading architect of the classical period of Ottoman architecture with the bridges, social and religious complexes and mosques he built.

　　Although there exist many timber bridges in this region to provide passage through River Ergene, Sultan Murad II asked for the construction of a large stone bridge due to the fact that such timber bridges were all destroyed after a while and that they failed to provide passage under the seasonal conditions of all type. Uzunköprü is a masterpiece of this early period of Ottoman architecture, 1392 m. long masonry structure. The reason why the bridge is constructed at such a length is the fact that it was designed to provide passageway for the armies through the vast marshy land of the River Ergene and its tributaries while the location and form of the bridge built on the faulted fits perfectly with the topographical conditions of the land on which the bridge is situated.

　　It has 174 arches at different heights and different shapes: round and pointed. Among those arches 171 are visible today, whereas remaining two are below ground and two arches are combined together. The vaulted feet of the stone bridge stands on the base of the Ergene River and its main flood areas, which are reinforced with stone and wood. Arches’ widths are ranged between 4.68 m (the narrow arch is 4.68 m. in upstream direction and 4.71 m in downstream direction) and 13.55 m (the largest arch is 13.19 m in upstream direction and 13.55m in downstream direction). Width and height of all 174 arches of the bridge were designed to allow the bridge to perform its task perfectly by taking into account that the winter and spring seasons floods. The Edirne side of the bridge (north side) has a sloping section where the arches rising by 2.5% like a ramp and has 22 arches. The section which stands on the Ergene River is 33.67 meters and has the largest arches which let the water flow through in comfortably. After the arches passes Ergene River, bridge belts directed to southeast direction with a wide angle and slope through the Uzunköprü town. In this largest section (1070.8 meters) height of bridge decreased by about 2% and bridge joins the town.

　　Having been constructed of limestone and cut stone blocks of travertine type, the bridge foundations settled on the alluvium soil are placed on the energy absorbing timber grill system. The arches of the bridge are mostly double-centred and in pointed form while there also exist circular and flattened circular arches. The arches of the bridge with discharging eyes on the left and right spans across the large spanning of River Ergene include a cornice in circular form with outstretching chamfers on the spandrel walls together with a parapet. To the upstream of the bridge, there exist flood splitters in triangular form while such flood splitters are polygonal and circular to the downstream which also include cones.

　　The bridge bears the motif of art and aesthetics of Ottomans which harmonizes different cultures from Central Asia to the Balkans. There are authentic ornaments, observed on the arches, especially on the keystone, such as geometric motifs (pentagons, hexagons, octagons, seven-pointed stars, Star of David and circle), plant and animal figures (lions, elephants,  birds,  etc.),  central  or  Rumi  palmette  motifs.  (Rumi  motif  is  a  style  of ornamentation which is widely used by the Seljuks of Anatolia.)

　　The epitaph with passage on a marble plate states that the bridge was constructed during the reign of Sultan Murad II while by the time the bridge was restored with the rise of Sultan Abdülhamîd II, the epitaph was taken from the bridge and brought to the Gazi Mahmud Bey Fountain. It is a well known fact that the fountain was built in memory of  Mahmud Bey who was deemed to be responsible for the maintenance of the timber bridge at the same location during Sultan Murad I period. In addition, to the direction towards the town, there constructed a monument on which "Liberty, Justice, Equality and Fraternity" is scripted to commemorate the Second Constitutionalist Period.

　　Upon construction of the bridge, a namesake town with two hundred dwellings, mosque, inn, baths and two hundred shops was established while the people leading their lives in the surrounding area were deemed to be responsible for the repair and maintenance of the bridge. Hence, the mobility of the Ottoman army was developed and the transportation was provided in a faster manner.