Uzunkopru - Long Bridge

I found this place when I was browsing our region's entries in Lonely Planet Turkey. It caught my imagination and I wanted to go. We'd gotten close a couple of times, but had other priorities those days.

 "Uzunkopru - Long Bridge"

"Amazingly the 1392m-long Ottoman bridge 

after which the town is named is still standing 

with all of its 174 arches intact.  ... after 

nearly six centuries of continuous use." p 126

We took the long way home from Greece travelling north to the border crossing at Karaagac/Eirne on October 8th. By the time we made Uzunkopru, the light was beginning to fade. We crossed the river  from the north driving across a long modern bridge and my heart sank.  It seemed that the bridge I'd longed to see no longer existed. We turned off the highway and Cam drove us through the unfamiliar town's narrow streets. Drizzle, darkness and construction hindered our progress so we went round and round never seeing a sign or any indication that the bridge still existed. We were on the point of giving up when we found it. Driving across, it's low and flat; quite unremarkable as bridges go. There is just space for two vehicles to meet. However, considering its age, it's an amazing piece of ancient engineering.