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The Galata Bridge (in Turkish Galata Köprüsü) is a bridge that spans the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey. From the end of the 19th century in particular, the bridge has featured in Turkish literature, theater, poetry and novels.

 

The first recorded bridge over the Golden Horn in Istanbul was built during the reign of Justinian the Great in the 6th century, close to the area near the Theodosian Land Walls at the western end of the city.

 

In 1453, during the Fall of Constantinople, the Turks assembled a mobile bridge by placing their ships side by side across the water, so that their troops could move from one side of the Golden Horn to the other.

Golden Horn Bridge designed by Leonardo da Vinci in 1502.

 

In the years 1502–1503 there were plans to construct the first bridge at the current location. Sultan Bayezid II solicited a design and Leonardo da Vinci, utilizing three well-known geometrical principles, the pressed-bow, parabolic curve and keystone arch, created an unprecedented single span 240 m long and 24 m wide bridge for the Golden Horn, which would have become the longest bridge in the world of that time if it had been constructed. However, the ambitious design was not approved by the Sultan.

 

The current Galata bridge was built by the Turkish construction company STFA just a few meters away from the previous bridge, between Karaköy and Eminönü, and completed in December 1994. It was designed and supervised by GAMB (Göncer Ayalp Engineering Company). It is a bascule bridge, which is 490 m long with a main span of 80 m. The deck of the bridge is 42 m wide and has three vehicular lanes and one walkway in each direction. It has also recently had tram tracks re-added to it, allowing the Istanbul Tram to run from Zeytinburnu in the suburbs near Atatürk International Airport to Kabataş, a few blocks before Dolmabahçe Palace. This bridge along with Trowse Bridge in Norwich, Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam, a number of bridges in Saint Petersburg in Russia, a number of railway bridges in the United States may be the only movable bridges in the world that also carry electrified rail tracks.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

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Combination of fishermen, locals and tourists constantly occupying Istanbul's Galata bridge significantly contribute to the lively atmosphere of Istanbul's downtown - there is always so much happening!

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Uploaded on May 25, 2013
Taken on March 10, 2013