The Karkamış Bridge () is a Parker-truss bridge carrying the

Baghdad Railway Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

across the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

in southeastern

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 ...

. The bridge was built by the

between 1911 and 1913 in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and played an important role for transporting troops and supplies during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, as it was the only permanent crossing of the Euphrates in the area. After the war, the bridge and the railway fell under British military control until the Allies withdrew their forces from Turkey. The French-owned Chemins de fer de Cilicie Nord-Syrie, headquartered in French Syria (CNS) took over the railway in 1921 and operated the route until being sold to the Turkish-owned Southern Railway in 1933. This new company owned and operated the railway until being absorbed by the

Turkish State Railways The State Railways of the Republic of Turkey (), abbreviated as TCDD, is a government-owned national railway company responsible for the ownership and maintenance of railways in Turkey, as well as the planning and construction of new lines. TCDD ...

in 1948. When first completed, the structure was the second longest bridge in the Ottoman Empire and later Turkey, after

Uzunköprü Bridge Uzunköprü ( ''Long Bridge''), formerly , is a 15th-century Ottoman Empire, Ottoman stone bridge over the Ergene, River Ergene in Edirne Province, northwestern Turkey. The bridge gave its name to the nearby town of Uzunköprü. It is claimed to ...

East Thrace East Thrace or Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically in Southeast Europe. Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest c ...

References

{{Authority control Bridges completed in 1913 Railway bridges in Turkey Buildings and structures in Gaziantep Province Buildings and structures in Şanlıurfa Province Crossings of the Euphrates Transport in Gaziantep Province Transport in Şanlıurfa Province 1913 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Bridges over the Euphrates River Truss bridges in Turkey Baghdad railway