Malabadi Bridge (name in Turkish sources in the Middle Ages: Akarman or Karaman Bridge) is 23,2 km from Silvan and is within the boundaries of 1 district. There is easy transportation from Silvan. It is registered to the Diyarbakır Historical Works Inventory. Malabadi Bridge was restored in 1989 by Silvan Municipality. Malabadi Bridge is the main element that forms the logo of Silvan Municipality. Malabadi Bridge is a bridge belonging to Silvan district.
It was built in 1147 by Timurtaş Bin-i İlgazi during the period of Artuklu Principality. It is a bridge seven meters wide and 150 meters long. Its height is 19 meters from the water level to the keystone. It was built with colored stones and has survived with repairs.
Malabadi Bridge is the widest arch in stone bridges in the world. The bridge is within the city limits of Diyarbakır. There are two rooms on both sides of the arch, which are used as shelters by caravans and passengers on the inside, especially during the harsh days of winter. These rooms, which are also used by bridge guards, are said to have been previously connected with corridors to the bottom of the road, and the footsteps of incoming caravans were heard when they were further away through these corridors.
The bridge, consisting of three sections, each in other lengths and broken lines, is connected to the roads with gentle slopes in the east and west. The central part is in the form of a mass seated on the rocks. Here there is a very large arch, 38,60 m wide and a small three-meter arch, in the shape of a basket handle. The third part is noticeably parallel to the first part.
There are two pointed arched openings, as well as an opening near the place connected to the road. Thus, the bridge has five eyes, one of which is very large. The bridge is 150 meters long, seven meters wide, and its height is 19 meters from low water level to keystone. The bridge was built with colored stones. There are 4,5-5,3 m dimensions on both sides of the large arch, two light arched chambers, a five meter wide masonry gate in the middle of the upper arch, and two gates on both sides of it. One of them remained on the Batman side, the other was destroyed. From the left side of these, the stairs are reached by a ladder. These rooms are covered with high ceilings and brick. Its windows are large and large.
Evliya Çelebi introduces the bridge as follows: “There are iron gates on both sides of the bridge like castle gates. Inside these gates, there are inns under the arch, on the right and left, with the foundation of the bridge, where passers-by become guests when they come from the right and the left. There are many rooms under the arch of the bridge. Iron windows, guests sit at their masterpieces, chat with the men on the opposite side of the arch, and fish with some nets and fishing rods. There are rooms with nice windows on the left and right of this bridge. All the balustrades on the right and left of the bridge are made of Nehcivan steel. But the blacksmith master also made some kind of art caged balustrades by exerting his might, and actually showed the mastery of his hand. Indeed, the master engineer exerted his strength and showed such arts on this bridge that none of the architects who have passed this workmanship have shown it.
Albert Gabriel says to the bridge as follows: “In the period when there was no modern static account, such a work was admirable and admired at that time. The dome of Hagia Sophia easily enters under the bridge. in the Balkans, in Turkey, in the Middle East in this opening, there is no bridge at that age. "
Evliya Çelebi wrote about the bridge in Seyahatname: “The dome of Hagia Sophia enters under the Malabadi Bridge.”
