Taşköprü, translated to Stone bridge, is a combined regulator dam and bridge located in

Beyşehir Beyşehir () is a municipality and district of Konya Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,054 km2, and its population is 77,690 (2022). The town is located on the southeastern shore of Lake Beyşehir and is marked to the west and the southwest b ...

district of

Konya Province Konya Province () is a province and metropolitan municipality in southwest Central Anatolia, Turkey. Its area is 40,838 km2, making it the largest province by area, and its population is 2,296,347 (2022). The provincial capital is the city ...

, central Turkey. It was constructed as a

flood barrier A flood barrier, surge barrier or storm surge barrier is a specific type of floodgate, designed to prevent a storm surge or spring tide from flooding the protected area behind the barrier. A surge barrier is almost always part of a larger flood ...

as part of the

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

al Konya Plain Project on the ground of a ruined 8–10 arched bridge between 1908 and 1914. Its completion was delayed due to repeated flooding at the

Lake Beyşehir Lake Beyşehir (; anciently, Carallis or Karallis (), or Caralis or Karalis (Κάραλις)) is a large freshwater lake in Isparta and Konya provinces in southwestern Turkey. It is located at around and is the largest freshwater lake in Turkey. ...

. The dam was commissioned by

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

Ottoman

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

Mehmed Ferid Pasha Mehmed Ferid Pasha () (, ; 1851, Yanya, Ottoman Empire (modern-day Ioannina, Greece) – 1914, Sanremo, Kingdom of Italy) was an Ottoman-Albanian statesman. He served as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 15 January 1903 until 22 July ...

Vlorë Vlorë ( ; ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, third most populous city of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surr ...

(in office 1903–1908), (). Regulated water draining off the lake contributed to the rise of the formerly droughty and quaggy

Konya Plain The Konya-Karaman Plain is a plain in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey, associated with the Konya and Karaman Provinces. It is a flat plain (a height of 900–1050 m) that covers the majority of Konya Basin and constitutes the main pa ...

into a "granary". Taşköprü is situated over the Beyşehir-Soğla-Apa Canal close to the Lake Beyşehir. The -long and -wide

ashlar Ashlar () is a cut and dressed rock (geology), stone, worked using a chisel to achieve a specific form, typically rectangular in shape. The term can also refer to a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, a ...

-masonry combined dam-bridge structure has two level of 15 arches and

floodgates Floodgates, also called stop gates, are adjustable gates used to control water flow in flood barriers, reservoir, river, stream, or levee systems. They may be designed to set spillway crest heights in dams, to adjust flow rates in sluices and ca ...

. The bridge was initially open to motorized traffic. After the building of a new road bridge west of it, Taşköprü is used today as a pedestrian bridge only. With effect on July 12, 1980, the historic monumental structure was put under protection by the Cultural and Natural Heritage Protection Board.

References

Dams in Konya Province Arch bridges in Turkey Dams completed in 1914 Bridges completed in 1914 1914 establishments in the Ottoman Empire Pedestrian bridges in Turkey Beyşehir District Ottoman bridges in Turkey Stone bridges in Turkey {{Asia-dam-stub