Baç Bridge ( also called ''Justinyen Köprüsü'') is a bridge in Tarsus in

Mersin Province Mersin Province (), formerly İçel Province (), is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast between Antalya Province, A ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Geography

The bridge is situated to the east of the city at about . Its distance to Tarsus city center is about and to the

Tarsus Waterfall Tarsus Waterfall is located on the northern outskirts of the city of Tarsus, not far from the motorway O.51, in southern Turkey. Since the construction of the Berdan Dam, the water of the Tarsus River has been distributed in canals for irriga ...

is about . It is over the

Berdan River The Berdan (also Baradān or Baradā), the ancient Cydnus (), is a river in Mersin Province, south Turkey. The historical city of Tarsus is on the river and it is therefore sometimes called the Tarsus River. Originally the watercourse passed dir ...

(Latin:''Cydnus''), and on the former highway connecting Tarsus to

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

History

During the ancient ages the course of Berdan River was at the west of the city which was then a

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

port. But because of alluvial deposits from the Berdan River the coastline was continuously moving to south. By the 6th century, the coastline had already been moved away and a small lagoon named ''Rhegma'' had been formed which obstructed the river flow in the rainy seasons and caused floods.

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

Emperor

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

(reigned 527-565) changed the course of the river by constructing a channel at the east of the city to facilitate easier flow. The channel is the present course of the river. Justinian also constructed the bridge bearing his name over the new course. During the early

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

(pre Ottoman ) times the caravans had to pay a certain customs duty to use the bridge. The word for customs duty was “''baç''” (sometimes spelled ''bac'') and the bridge was renamed “''baç bridge''”. According to an essay by a local historian the baç was cancelled during the Ottoman eraAn essay by Şahin Özkan
/ref> In 1960s a

ring road A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist in reducin ...

connecting

Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...

to Adana was constructed to the south of Tarsus and Baç Bridge was put out of use. After its active service life now the bridge is conserved in the Kuvai Milliye Park of Tarsus Tarsus map
/ref> It was restored in 1978.

Construction

The bridge is an

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...

. There are three arches. Presently the width of the river is about .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bac Bridge Tarsus, Mersin Arch bridges in Turkey Bridges completed in the 6th century Roman bridges in Turkey Transport buildings and structures in Mersin Province Stone arch bridges Former toll bridges in Turkey