Hilal, Gaziler St. No:173, 35170, 35170 Konak/İzmir, Turkey
The Caravan Bridge (Turkish name Kemer Köprüsü, Kervan Köprüsü) is an ancient bridge over the Meles River in the city of Izmir. The bridge was built no later than 850 BCE in Lydia (today's territory of Turkey) and is registered in the Guinness Book of Records as the "oldest dated bridge in the world still in use." The length of the bridge is about 13 meters. The structure is over 2860 years old, making it one of the oldest functioning bridges in the world. The nearest in age functioning bridge in Europe—the Fabricio Bridge—is at least 800 years younger than the Caravan Bridge. It is called the Caravan Bridge because caravans crossed the Meles River over it. The Turks have long called this bridge the "Kemer Bridge." During the Republican period, the name "Caravan Bridge" completely disappeared and only the name "Kemer" was used.
The surface of the bridge, made of hewn stone blocks, presumably built in the 2nd century BCE during the Roman period, is today hidden beneath a modern bridge. Over the years, damaged parts of the stone structure of the bridge, especially in the upper stone rows, were repaired. In 1951, the historic bridge, 6 meters wide, was expanded to 17 meters by adding a reinforced concrete bridge alongside it.
The location of the bridge is also known as the birthplace of Homer, the semi-legendary author of the epic poems "Iliad" and "Odyssey." The story or fable tells us that his mother Criphiada named him Melesigenes because she gave birth to him on the banks of the Meles.
The Caravan Bridge was the customs gate of Smyrna, and travelers stopped here to rest and enjoy the beautiful landscape of the Meles. Poems were written about it, music composed, and it was used as an image decorating postcards. Since the early 1800s, the area around the bridge has been used as a recreational zone. Coffeehouses here were filled with Muslims on Fridays, Jews on Saturdays, and Christians on Sundays. The French poet Lamartine said: "The view of the city and the bay from the hill and cypresses is very beautiful. Descending, we find a very beautiful corner near one of the city’s entrance gates and next to the water. This is the Caravan Bridge. The river is calm and clear flowing water under a green dome formed by willows and cypresses. We sit on the edge. 'The Turks bring us hookah and coffee...'” — he wrote about this place.
The Meles stream, flowing under the bridge, is the eastern boundary of the city, and crossing this boundary marks the beginning of the chaos of urban life. Before reaching the bridge, caravans traveled along a road between cemeteries with magnificent cypresses. Camel caravans, which can be seen in many engravings, used this bridge to transport silk and similar eastern goods coming from Iran to the West. When they reached the bridge, the camels lay down, the cargo was unloaded, and the caravan rested.
When railways reached the interior parts of Anatolia, the number of caravans coming to Izmir began to decrease, whereas previously three to four thousand camels passed through this region daily. Caravans completely disappeared after the 1950s, when camels were banned from entering the city.
Sources:
https://kantaratlas.blogspot.com/2018/06/caravan-bridge.html?view=timeslide
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravan_Bridge
https://www.visitizmir.org/tr/Destinasyon/14740
https://www.erolsasmaz.com/?oku=550
