Stone Bridge (Beyşehir)

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Taşköprü, translated to Stone bridge, is a combined regulator dam and bridge located in Beyşehir district of Konya Province, central Turkey.[1]

Taşköprü
Taşköprü as regulator dam.
Stone Bridge (Beyşehir) is located in Turkey
Stone Bridge (Beyşehir)
Location of Taşköprü in Turkey
CountryTurkey
LocationBeyşehir, Konya Province
Coordinates37°40′50.5″N 31°43′22″E / 37.680694°N 31.72278°E / 37.680694; 31.72278
PurposeFlood control, irrigation
StatusOperational
Construction began1908
Opening date1914; 110 years ago (1914)
Dam and spillways
Type of damArch dam
ImpoundsBeyşehir-Soğla-Apa Canal
Length42 m (138 ft)
Width (crest)6.35 m (20.8 ft)
Taşköprü as pedestrian bridge.

It was constructed as a flood barrier as part of the irrigational Konya Plain Project on the ground of a ruined 8–10 arched bridge between 1908 and 1914.[2][3] Its completion was delayed due to repeated flooding at the Lake Beyşehir. The dam was commissioned by Albanian Ottoman Grand Vizier Mehmed Ferid Pasha of Vlorë (in office 1903–1908), (Turkish: Avlonyalı Ferid Paşa).[1] Regulated water draining off the lake contributed to the rise of the formerly droughty and quaggy Konya Plain into a "granary".[1][2]

Taşköprü is situated over the Beyşehir-Soğla-Apa Canal close to the Lake Beyşehir. The 42 m (138 ft)-long and 6.35 m (20.8 ft)-wide ashlar-masonry combined dam-bridge structure has two level of 15 arches and floodgates.[3] The bridge was initially open to motorized traffic. After the building of a new road bridge west of it, Taşköprü is used today as a pedestrian bridge only.[2]

With effect on July 12, 1980, the historic monumental structure was put under protection by the Cultural and Natural Heritage Protection Board.[1][3]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Beyşehir'de "100.Yılında Tarihi Taşköprü" Konferansı". Milliyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  2. ^ a b c "Tarihi Taşköprü Yıllara Meydan Okuyor" (in Turkish). Beyşehir Belediyesi. 2014-05-07. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  3. ^ a b c "Doç. Dr. Muşmal: "Taşköprü'nün Güzelliği Gölgeleniyor"". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2015-07-15. Retrieved 2016-09-07.