Akköprü

Akköprü is a Seljuk-era bridge over the Ankara River in the Varlık neighbourhood of Yenimahalle, and it is counted as the oldest bridge in the city to have survived to the present day. Its Arabic inscription gives the construction date as the month of Rebiülahir in the year 619, which corresponds to 1222. Today this stone bridge, which gives its name to a metro stop and is surrounded by wide roads and new buildings, is a quiet witness to the centuries when Ankara depended on caravan routes. Who built it The sources place two different emphases on the bridge's patron. Semavi Eyice's article in the TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam, relying on the inscription, writes that the bridge was commissioned by Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I. The Kültür Envanteri database and Wikipedia state that the structure was built on the sultan's behalf by Kızıl Bey, the governor of Ankara at the time. The two statements do not exclude each other; the inscription carries the sultan's name, while the city's Seljuk governor oversaw the work. According to the Kültür Envanteri entry, the three-line inscription names the structure after Ebu'l Feth Keykubad, son of Sultan Keyhüsrev. There is a second inscription on the bridge as well, but according to Eyice it could not be read. Eyice's bibliography shows that the inscription was treated in Mübarek Galib's 1928 work on the inscriptions of Ankara. The bridge was also studied among the city's Seljuk-period buildings in Gönül Öney's 1971 book Ankara'da Türk Devri Yapıları (Turkish-Period Buildings in Ankara). Road and water The bridge was built at the Ankara junction of the old caravan road that linked the city to other towns, described in the sources as the Baghdad trade route. Kültür Envanteri records that it stands at the point where the İncesu, Hatip and Çubuk streams meet; the river formed by these waters is known today as the Ankara River. In the Ottoman period the bridge was known as the place where not only caravans but also people leaving for military service or for the pilgrimage to Mecca were seen off and set out on their way. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism's introduction to Yenimahalle also highlights the bridge as a structure on the district's largest river that bears witness to the city's history. Its name means white bridge in Turkish, and according to English Wikipedia the neighbourhood around it is also called Akköprü after the bridge. Kültür Envanteri holds old photographs of the bridge taken in 1925, 1927 and 1935 and a drawing dated 1931; these images show the years when the bridge still stood in open countryside. In the early Republican years a picture of the bridge was printed on the back of the five lira banknote that stayed in circulation between 1927 and 1937. Stone and arches According to the measurements Eyice gives, the bridge has seven arches and is 77 metres long and 7 metres wide. The central arch, the largest and highest, has a span of 10 metres, and the others become lower and smaller towards both ends. All the arches are pointed. The TDV article and Turkish Wikipedia describe the main material as neatly cut andesite, while Kültür Envanteri speaks of cut basalt and Ankara stone, so the sources differ between two dark volcanic stones. Reused stones from antiquity, some carved or inscribed, were also built into the masonry; looking closely at the differences in colour and surface between the blocks is therefore rewarding. On the western face there are two inscriptions, one of them largely worn away. Repairs The structure was registered as protected on 8 August 1959. Because the bridge has been repaired many times over the centuries, its original form was altered at various stages, and according to Eyice the 1970 repair tried to restore its old appearance to some extent. Turkish Wikipedia writes that concrete fill was used in a repair carried out by the General Directorate of Highways in the 1960s and that the bridge was then closed to vehicle traffic. According to the same source, the two arches at the southern end were later buried under earth fill, the facing stones were largely renewed and the deck was covered with concrete. The metal railings were also added later. How to visit Today the bridge is open only to pedestrians, so walking across it from one end to the other is the most natural way to see it. First go to a point on the bank from which you can see the arches side on; the way the pointed arches drop from the centre towards the ends reads best from there. Then cross to the western face of the bridge and look for the place of the inscriptions. For photographs, the soft light of early afternoon brings out the warm tone of the stone. Akköprü stands right beside Akköprü station on Ankara Metro line M1 (between Kızılay and Batıkent); the station opened on 29 December 1997. Since the bridge stands in a public space, no entrance or ticket is required. Nearby, towards Tandoğan, the MKE Industry and Technology Museum and the Gazi University Rectorate Building can be visited on the same day.