Erkmen Senan's Writings: Kurbağalıdere and Bridges of the Ancient Kalkhedon River

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NOTE: The text and pictures are copied verbatim from the blog page of Ahmet Erkmen Senan, a painter, teacher, archaeology lover, blogger, traveler, resident of Karşıyaka, academician, revolutionary, activist, actor, joker, comrade, friend, relative, lover, sibling, child… who passed away on March 27, 2013 .

Our goal in directly copying the article is to respect Erkmen Senan's work and ensure that his excellent content reaches a wider audience. Since we were unable to find anyone to obtain permission for the author's content, we felt it our duty to post this announcement here. You can find related images on the site below.

Source: https://erkmensenan.blogspot.com/

TAHTAKÖPRÜ

The bridge in front of Fenerbahçe Stadium was originally made of wood. In 1920, when there were no heavy vehicles and the number of cars in Kadıköy did not exceed 10, most of the time horse carriages used to cross this bridge. It turns out that it was built during the Ottoman period. The nails on the horizontally arranged planks had loosened over time, and when a wheel stepped on one end, the other end would lift up. Care was taken not to lean on the rotten railings.

When MURAT and SUHULET buses started operating between Suadiye and Kadıköy in 1927-1928, the bridge was first revised. In the following years, concrete was poured for the tram line and it was widened and took its current form.

Two hundred meters from Tahtaköprü, at the head of Kuşdili Meadow, there was another low, narrow bridge, only suitable for people. It wasn't very busy; just after the bridge was the Fenerbahçe Club's burned-down clubhouse, and next to it was Hamdi's Nightclub. Long used as a wooden bridge, it was converted to concrete and widened under the Kurbağalıdere reclamation plan, but it was still left for human use only. About 45 years ago, heavy rains caused the stream to rise, and the current trapped the bridge beneath Tahtaköprü. It sat for days, its tabletop down and legs up, like an overturned table, before being dismantled and removed.

TAŞKÖPRÜ

The half-timbered bridge that stretched across the road behind Fenerbahçe Stadium, opposite Mahmut Dede Tomb, collapsed in the 1920s and was unusable. Cars used to cross the stream at a shallow part. In 1928, it was completely built of stone, including its railings, and from that year on, it was named "STONE BRIDGE".

No one could cross this bridge, which was unlit at night. Because the priest's vineyard and the street behind the Fenerbahçe Stadium were dangerous even during the day, Taşköprü was completely silent at night.

Both ends of the bridge used to be cemeteries. You will see in the photos below that it says "cimetieres turques a Kourbali-Dere". This stone bridge was used until the roads leading to the Atatürk Bridge in Kadıköy were built. This bridge, which was a very solid structure, was demolished when the roads were built and the Kurbağalıdere was turned into a canal.

Only the railway used to pass over the bridge, which is about a hundred meters ahead of the Stone Bridge. This railway bridge, which was built quite high, was later changed……..

QUOTE and SOURCE: The First Turkish Village in the Byzantine Metropolis - KADIKÖY - Dr. Müfid EKDAL

Kadıköy Municipality Cultural Publications 1996

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