Eurymedon Bridge

A humpback bridge over the river Kopruchay, known in antiquity as the Eurymedon, a couple of kilometres from Aspendos. The Seljuks built it in the thirteenth century on Roman piers of the third century: the old piers stayed where they were, but over a thousand years the channel had shifted, and the new spans had to be set at an angle — which is why the bridge is noticeably broken in plan rather than straight. The roadway climbs steeply towards the middle and drops just as steeply, the width barely allows two carts to pass, and the parapets are low. The masonry of the Roman part is large dressed blocks without mortar, that of the Seljuk part is finer and bonded; the boundary is visible to the naked eye. The river under the bridge is turquoise and fast, with rapids at the shallows, and oleander grows along the banks. The bridge is still passable for light traffic, although the main flow has long since gone by the new road upstream.

On the map