Istanbul bridges on Bosphorus come in different shapes. Generally speaking, In Turkey there are a large number of bridges dating back to the past centuries. The eras of the construction of these bridges vary, some of which date back to the Ottoman, Seljuk, and Roman eras. In addition to many newly built bridges that were built in the modern Turkish Republic.
This created the large number of bridges that you see now, with a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and the quality of the building materials used in their construction. Istanbul contains many ancient bridges built by the great engineer Sinan Pasha, as well as a group of modern bridges, which are among the longest suspension bridges in the world. Let’s see together the most important Istanbul bridges on Bosphorus.
Old istanbul bridges on bosphorus
The engineer Sinan Pasha built many bridges in Istanbul in the Ottoman era, such as:
The Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent Bridge, the Maklova Bridge, the Qantara Bridge, and the Long Qantara Bridge, and these bridges still exist in Istanbul to this day.
recent istanbul bridges on bosphorus
There are three bridges linking the European and Asian part in Istanbul and crossing the Bosphorus strait, and they are:
Bosphorus Bridge, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, Yavuz Bridge “Sultan Selim I”.
On the other hand, four bridges linking the northern and southern ends of the Golden Horn in Istanbul, which are:
Old Galata Bridge, New Galata Bridge, Ataturk Bridge, Golden Harbor Metro Bridge
Bosphorus Bridge “Boğaziçi Köprüsü”:
It is one of the most important Istanbul bridges on Bosphorus and has many other names such as “Turkey Bridge” and “First Bosphorus Bridge”
It was recently named “July 15 Martyrs’ Bridge” in honor of the civilian victims who died during the 2016 coup.
The Bosphorus Bridge is Istanbul’s main artery, as it cuts the Istanbul Strait. It connects the European part of Istanbul in the Ortakoy region and the Asian part of Istanbul in the Belazy region.
The length of the Bosphorus Bridge is 1,074 meters, its width is 39 meters, and it contains steel wires that hold the bridge, the thickness of which is 0.5 to 1 centimeter. It was inaugurated on October 30, 1973 AD, on the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic.
The Bosphorus Bridge is ranked sixteenth in the world in terms of length, as it is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world. The Bosphorus Bridge is a distinctive tourist destination and a wonderful tourist attraction, especially in the evening because of the wonderful lighting in the place at night. All this proves that it is one of the most important Istanbul bridges on Bosphorus.
It is an opportunity for photography lovers to take the most beautiful pictures. Below the bridge there are many restaurants and cafes, and there are cruises in the Bosphorus Strait from this place.
The bridge of the Ottoman Sultan “Mehmed the Conqueror “Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü“
It was named by this name in relation to the Ottoman Sultan “Muhammad the Conqueror”, who conquered Istanbul (in old Constantinople), and ended at his hand the Byzantine state.
It is also called the “Second Bosphorus Bridge” because it is the second bridge that connects the European and Asian parts and crosses the Bosphorus Strait. This also qualifies it to be one of the important Istanbul bridges on Bosphorus.
The bridge is 1,090 meters long and was opened in 1988.
Sultan Selim I Bridge or Yavuz Bridge “Yavuz Sultan Selim Köprüsü“
It is called “Yavuz”, which is one of the names of Sultan “Selim the First”. He was called that because of his severity and strictness in ruling.
The bridge was named after him due to his great role in expanding the Ottoman Empire towards the Middle East and North Africa.
It is also called the “Third Bosphorus” bridge, as it links the European part of Istanbul in the “Gariçe” region in “Sariyer” and the Asian part of Istanbul in the “Boyrazkoy” region in “Beyluz”, and crosses the Bosphorus Strait. This definetly makes it qualified to be on our list of the most important Istanbul bridges on Bosphorus.
This bridge is characterized by being located near the entrance to the Black Sea from the Bosphorus Strait.
It is also considered one of the most important Istanbul bridges on Bosphorus because it is the widest bridge in the world (59 meters) and its length is 1,048 meters.
It has many lanes for the passage of cars and trains (8 lanes for cars divided into 4 lanes for each side, two lanes for railways). Its construction began in 2013, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim inaugurated it on August 26, 2016.
Galata Köprüsü Bridge
It is an ancient bridge that was among the ideas of Sultan “Bayezid II” to link the regions of “Aminonu” and “Karakoy”. His idea was designed at that time by the international engineer and painter “Leonardo da Vinci”, but the idea did not enter into force and was canceled In the early nineteenth century, Sultan “Mahmoud II” ordered the construction of a bridge in the same place chosen by Sultan “Bayazid”.
The length of its columns reached 540 meters and it is still present and it is currently called the “Old Galata Bridge”, which is the first bridge that connected the northern and southern ends of the Golden Horn. This makes it qualified to be on our list of the most important Istanbul bridges on Bosphorus.
Modern Galata Bridge (New Bridge)
Ages followed after the construction of the “Old Galata Bridge” until the mother of Sultan “Abdul Majid I” ordered in 1845 AD to build a bridge near the old bridge. It was rebuilt more than once in the following ages. Until the last time in the modern era that was in 1992 AD to be a connection point between the northern and southern banks of the Golden Horn in Istanbul, and it is currently called the New Bridge.
It was restored and opened in 2003. It is a wonderfully designed drawbridge with a length of about 490 meters. It is a tourist attraction in Istanbul and a good place for fishing lovers.
On the other side of it, there are many restaurants serving fish and seafood. Below the bridge there is a stop for ferries to the cities of “Bursa” and “Yalova”, It is a great place to take great pictures.
You can find out more about Ferries in Istanbul, through this article.
Ataturk Bridge or Unkapani Bridge
It is a bridge adjacent to the Galata (Galata) bridge. It connects the northern end of the Golden Horn at the “Al-Fatih” area and between the southern end of the Golden Horn at the “Beyoglu” area.
In the past, it was a wooden bridge built in 1836 AD, and its construction was ordered by Sultan “Mahmoud II”. The wooden bridge was replaced by an iron bridge in 1875 AD, its length is 480 meters and its width is 18 meters, but it was demolished in 1912 AD due to the end of its usefulness.
The bridge was built again in 1940 AD, and the bridge was named “Ataturk” after the leader “Mustafa Kemal Ataturk”, the founder and first president of the Turkish Republic. The bridge is currently 477 meters long and 25 meters wide.
This bridge was built to save people’s transportation costs by boat. Which makes it a valuable bridge from the Istanbul bridges on Bosphorus.
Golden Harbor Metro Bridge
It was established in 2014 AD and connects the “Beyoglu” and “Fatih” areas in Istanbul. The length of the “Metro Harbor” bridge is 936 meters and is located between two other famous bridges, “Ataturk Bridge” and “New Galata Bridge”.
It is the fourth suspension bridge over the Golden Horn, as it connects the two Haxman metro stations in Sariyer at the northern end of Istanbul, and the transportation center station in the “Al-Fateh” district at the southern tip of Istanbul.
Read about Istanbul bridges on Bosporus in Arabic
