Talk:Irgandı Bridge

coverage of false claim (that this is one of only 4 bridges, world-wide, carrying shops)

It was stated in the article (for how long?) that there exist only three other bridges in the world having shops. Various editors (who?) added links to more than three such bridges, disproving the assertion. I have revised the article to now state that there is local, incorrect belief in the assertion, and document that. To other editors, hey it may seem a tad unusual or petty to use Wikipedia mainspace coverage to document that a false claim like this one exists, but it is more common than you might think and I believe it is generally helpful to state the false claim and provide contrary evidence explicitly. This can be done either in the main text, or in a parenthetical expression, or in notes below. The fact is, there are many many incorrect claims that a given historic site is the oldest of its kind, the biggest, the only one, etc., written into documents such as nomination documents for listing a site on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, or into local webpages. This occurs naturally, because the local author is simply not aware of the existence of counter-examples disproving their assertion. If the assertion is publicly prominent (as it seems to me the case with the bursa.com.tr source here), then I think it is helpful and a good use of Wikipedia to assist readers, who are perhaps visiting the site, with acknowledgment that the (false) claim is made (which they may well be hearing or seeing) but clear refutation of its accuracy.

What's in the article now (as edited by me):

(It has been claimed (incorrectly) locally that it is one of only four bridges in the world having shops. Other bridge with shops on them are Ponte Vecchio and Ponte Rialto in Italy; Osam Bridge in Bulgaria; Pulteney Bridge in Avon, High Bridge in Lincoln, and "Frome Bridge" in Frome in the United Kingdom; and Krämerbrücke in Erfurt, Germany.)

References

The linked articles all establish that there are shops on those bridges, except perhaps for the Frome Bridge (redirects to Frome#Frome Bridge) where it currently states that the bridge has houses upon it. However, the Historic England webpage about that states it carries "a terrace of houses (included separately), now shops end [sic] a restaurant". So perhaps originally and perhaps for a long time it may have been houses, but now it is shops and a restaurant. The Frome Bridge coverage may or may not be changed permanently to state that. I used quote marks in referring to one ("Frome Bridge") because I currently believe that is a coined phrase (see wp:neologism) not in actual use, but I don't know of any correct proper noun name for it to use instead. Perhaps there's a better way to present that link.

The bursa.com.tr source webpage (specifically http://www.bursa.com.tr/carsili-kopru-irgandi-969.htm) is being termed by me to be a local source, as it appears local to Bursa, home of this bridge. It currently states (according to Google translation into English):

It is the first bridge over Gökdere, when you descend from Setbaşı Bridge towards the plain. It was built in 1442 by Pir Ali, the father of Irgandli Hodja Muslihiddin. There used to be thirty shops on the one-eyed masonry bridge. The bridge on which there are stables and warehouses is a unique bridge in the world with this feature. The bridge, which was severely damaged in the 1855 earthquake, was last hit by the bombing in the Greek occupation. / The Irgandı Bridge, which was closed to traffic until the 40s, was restored by Osmangazi Municipality and opened to service in 2004. It is one of the four bridges with bazaars in the world and the oldest. Today, in the shops on the bridge, the artisans of Bursa exhibit the most beautiful examples of eye-catching and handcrafting, from china to woodworking, from mother-of-pearl to carving, and continue to keep our traditional art alive. [emphasis added]

Please feel free to ping me and/or post to my Talk page, to get my attention, if you'd like to discuss. --Doncram (talk) 19:59, 24 November 2020 (UTC)

Hmm, there may be numerous more examples: see Category:Bridges with buildings. --Doncram (talk) 20:45, 24 November 2020 (UTC)