Bridge, a photo from Istanbul, Marmara

Photographer's Note

The Sultan Süleyman Bridge is located about thirty-six kilometers to the west of Istanbul along the main road to Edirne. Spanning 636 meters over the natural channel that connects the Büyükçekmece Lake with the Sea of Marmara to the south, the bridge was built beginning 1563 by Süleyman I (Kanuni Sultan Süleyman or Süleyman the Magnificent, 1520-1566) during his Szigetvar campaign. A stone bridge built by the Romans and restored by Mehmed II allowed passage further north prior to the construction of the current bridge by head-architect Sinan. Sinan also designed a small complex on the eastern bank of the channel for Sokullu Mehmed Pasa that consists of a fountain (çesme), caravanserai (kervansaray) and a small mosque (mescit) known as Sokullu Mehmed Pasa Mescidi or Köprübasi (foot of the bridge) Mosque. The bridge and the complex were completed a year into the rule of Süleyman's successor, Selim II (1566-1574).

The structure also known as the Büyükçekmece Bridge consists of four sections that individually ascend and descend carried on arches, resting on artificial islands placed in between. From east to west, the first two sections have seven arches each, followed by a five and a nine-arched section, with four-centered arches varying from 4.5 to 11.9 meters in width. After choosing firm ground closer to the seabed to span the channel, Sinan laid hexagonal artificial islands with thick retaining walls for during low tide. Lead was poured into caissons dug into the seabed prior to filling the foundations to create a stronger foundation.

The bridge carries a two-lane cobblestone road that is protected with shallow stone barriers on either side. The first section at the eastern end has two stone balconies at its apex that project over the river carried on stone braces. The forth section, to the west, has two inscription panels facing each other on either side of the road. Composed in Arabic, the southern panel offers praise to Süleyman I and Selim II and gives the date of construction. Mimar Sinan, who is referred to as Yusuf bin Abdullah in this panel, also has a signature to its side displaying this alternative name that is only mentioned in an early version of his monograph, Tezkiret-ül Ebniye. The northern panel is in Turkish and announces the completion of the bridge by Selim II.

A highway bridge was built to the south of the Sultan Süleyman Bridge in 1950 to accommodate intercity traffic. The historic bridge was restored in 1970 by the Turkish Highways Administration and is closed to traffic

siolaw, greek, lrw1966, tedesse, ifanik, syd1946, kiwi_explorer, Budapestman, papagolf21, dip, patdeph, COSTANTINO, Henryk_Bilor, danos, salvator, paura, gracious has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

setenay (7706) 2008-07-07 7:59

Merhaba Kadir Bey,
TE.te Bu köprünün ayrı ayrı çekilmiş çok güzel karelerini gördük ,sizinki tümüyle üçünüde içine alan çok güzel perspektifli, sandalları ve yansımaları ile harika zengin kompozisyon olmuş.Elinize sağlık,tebrikler,selamlar
setenay

siolaw (38294) 2008-07-07 8:18

Hello Kadir,
A nice light gave you these vivid colors... then the reflecting boats and clouds look very good. Finally this bridge sure has visual impact!
Maybe it would be more balanced if the boat on the left was not cut... looks fine like that anyway!
Greetings
Laurent

greek (7594) 2008-07-07 8:41

merhaba,

beautiful view of istanbul, nice composition,very serene and nice colours,galantis

lrw1966 (1632) 2008-07-07 8:56

Kadir Hi;
Wonderful beautiful compositon, with POV, detail and excellent colors.
Excellent educational note, as well, thanks.
Congratulations, very well done.
Larry
USA-tfs

erbiloguz (922) 2008-07-07 10:25

Kadir,
Bir zamanlar sadece bu köprü iki ucu birleştirirken şimdi köprü aksesuar olarak kalmış.... Güzel bir belgesel resim kutlarım..
Erbil

erel (11890) 2008-07-07 10:38

merhaba
renkleri yansımalarıyla çok güzel bir kare..ayrıca kayıklar da tam yerinde
tebrikler
erel

AYDIN (5700) 2008-07-07 11:51

Selamlar yansımalar ve kadraj çok iyi..
Gökyüzünde biraz gren var gibi..elinize sağlık

tedesse (25147) 2008-07-07 14:33

Hello!
Beautiful view,fantastic seascape,splendid colours and good sharpness.
Interesting note.
Greetings
Tadeusz

ifanik (21679) 2008-07-07 15:21

Hi Kadir
Very beautiful photo with nice Pov and colours
This is a very nice bridge
Best regards
Nick

syd1946 (1167) 2008-07-08 0:31

Hello Kadir,
beautiful composition with the blue color rules the frame and the colorful boats giving a nice touch and contrast.Well done!

Have a nice day,
Thomas

kiwi_explorer (12209) 2008-07-08 0:39

Hi Kadir,
Lovely tranquil scene and you've captured this wonderfully. The compo looks balanced with good overall image clarity. Well composed! tfs
Cheers,
Renier

Budapestman (82620) 2008-07-08 0:52

Hi Kadir,
Beautiful panoramic shot with spectacular composition. I like the picturesque blue tints and the attractive details. Clarity and lights are excellent, splendid image. Have a nice day
George

papagolf21 (152599) 2008-07-08 1:26

Bonjour, cher Kadir,
Il émane de cette composition un sentiment de sérénité avec ces barques au repos, rien ne semble vouloir déranger ces embarcations. Mon regard est attiré vers ce magnifique ouvrage (pont) et de la ville en arrière-plan.
Une très bonne photo accompagnée d'une excellente note d'accompagnement.
Amitiés.
Philippe

dip (23892) 2008-07-08 1:39

Merhaba Kadir,
wonderful photo,very good POV and amazing colors and reflections,
well composed,
Dimitris.

alibasarir (15580) 2008-07-08 2:14

merhaba kadir bey
çok güzel bir bakış açısı ve nefis bir görüntü.özellikle renk tonları ve yansımalar harika.ayrıca köprünün kadrajdaki konumuda süper elinize sağlık.
selamlar
Ali

patdeph (35750) 2008-07-08 2:14

merhaba Kadir
the POV is superb,and the beautiful light gives wonderful vivid colours to the composition!I like very much the blue sky and its reflection in the water,and the 2 boats are really shining in this blue surrounding!And how nice is the Suleyman bridge!superb,I like very much!
Regards.
Pascale

mumek (20226) 2008-07-08 2:25

Good morning Kadir!
Very picturesque composition from Büyükçekmece Lake. Nice view at the lake's water and Süleyman Bridge. Lovely colours of the sky and water. THe note is very interesting and informative
best regards
ziggy

rodgerg (55767) 2008-07-08 3:47

Hello Kadir,

A beautiful vew of this superb Suleyman bridge with nice reflections in the water, great depth of field and good FG with this two boats.
Best regards,
Roger

Nicou (193806) 2008-07-08 4:10

Hello,

Il est mangigique ce pont, dans ce superbe blue avec les bâteua, les reflets, de toute beauté.

Bravo et amitiés

Nicou

TopGeo (38220) 2008-07-08 5:59

Hi Kadir!This your picture I like for the good prospect because the bridge, But more I like the first level! for the balance. Surpass the do reflection the cleanliness and the composition, If it had also the other boat entire? Excellent blue of water!
Bravo
Geo

PixelTerror (0) 2008-07-08 6:56

Merhaba Kadir,
This is a very nice seaside image, well exposed and luminous, showing beautiful reflections. Some framing alternatives could be worth considering, for example one keeping just the right boat, just an idea.
Have a nice day JY

testmaniac (13508) 2008-07-09 19:19

Merhaba Kadir Bey, nice bridge photo. Good colors and nice place!

TFS

Phil

Henryk_Bilor (20803) 2008-07-11 1:32

Hi Kadir
Impressive bridge and great composition with the boats in the foreground. Lovely light and colours.
Have a nice day.

danos (110407) 2008-07-11 1:57

Merhaba Kadir,
very nice composition and POV with the little boats to create depth in the scene.The arch Sultan Süleyman bridge,is well placed in the photo,the colors and the light are well managed.Informative your note.Well done.

Have a nice day,Danos

salvator (19110) 2008-07-11 2:43

Merhaba Kadir Bey,
Gunduz de nefis renkler, ve kompozisyonlar veriyor bu muhtesem kopru. renklerin canliligi, yansimalar ve gokyuzu ile suyun mavileri de nefis.
Elinize saglik. Selamlar. Salvator.

COSTANTINO (104159) 2008-07-11 5:55

Merhaba Kadir bey,
A photo full of colours,blue amazing,boats,
dynamism and a bridge with attractive details
Thanks for sharing
Costantino

paura (25802) 2008-07-12 3:54

kAdİr,
Interesting photo from this beautiful bridge and it's surrounding places. Boats are an excellent elements in the well composed shot.

Abraço

Paulo

jmcl (14535) 2008-07-12 10:25

Merhaba Kadir,

wonderful stillness .. very nice sense of dimension .. I love the way it moves from emptiness to urban clutter in the back .. I might clone out whatever that is in the lower right .. very nice image. take care, John

gracious (20025) 2008-07-17 11:19

Merhaba Kadir,
Selam!!
I seem to miss out this great composition of yours! it is so beautiful!
good pov with great depth, wonderful colour and much details over this beautiful image!
many thanks for the useful notes
greeting
Tony

jimkilgallon (0) 2008-07-23 22:39

Merhaba Kadir
Love the setting, especially the reflections from the boat. Composed well, although I would have cropped out that oar from the bottom of the image, bridge is a great focal point for the image. Excellent skies and colours.
Regards
Jim

Hellas (7113) 2008-07-29 23:27

Good morning KadiR,
your composition is very good but the noise is visible! You don't allow workshop, so I can't do a correction. Nevertheless, I like this view especially with those colourful boats in the foreground.
Kindest regards,
Athanasios