Malabadi Bridge: Artuqid Arch over the Batman River

On this page

1. What is Malabadi Bridge?
2. How do you get to Malabadi Bridge?
3. When is the best time to visit Malabadi Bridge?
4. What is the history of Malabadi Bridge?
5. What is Malabadi Bridge famous for?
6. What can you see at Malabadi Bridge?
7. Frequently asked questions about Malabadi Bridge
8. What do the official records say about Malabadi Bridge?

What is Malabadi Bridge?

Malabadi Bridge is a medieval stone bridge that crosses the Batman River in one great pointed arch. Its main span is 38.6 m; the whole bridge is about 150 m long and rises 19 m above the river. It stands in Silvan district in the east of Diyarbakır province, where the river marks the border with Batman.

The bridge is more than a crossing. Small rooms for travellers are built into the spandrels of the main arch, so caravans could shelter inside it. Its stone changes colour along its length, and it bends slightly as it climbs to the crown of the arch.

How do you get to Malabadi Bridge?

The bridge is east of Silvan, where the Diyarbakır–Bitlis road crosses the Batman River. A modern road bridge, built upstream in the 1950s, carries the traffic, and the old bridge stands close by. You need your own car or a taxi; from Diyarbakır, the drive runs east through Silvan.

Silvan itself was medieval Mayyafariqin, the seat of Timurtaş, the ruler who built the bridge, and it is worth a stop on the way. The bridge also combines well with a trip to Batman and Hasankeyf, or with the shrine of Veysel Karani at Baykan, further along the same road in Siirt province.

Book a Malabadi Bridge tour

−5% Istambul readers save 5% on every tour below — applied at checkout.

See all tours

Partner listings via GetYourGuide · free cancellation on most

When is the best time to visit Malabadi Bridge?

Spring, when the Batman River is high and the valley is green, and autumn. Morning and late-afternoon light show the coloured stone best. In summer the valley is very hot, so arrive early. The steep approach ramps and the crown of the arch have no railings, so take care in wet weather.

What is the history of Malabadi Bridge?

An inscription dates the start of construction to 1146–1147, under Husam al-Din Timurtaş, the Artuqid ruler of Mayyafariqin (Silvan) and Mardin, son of İlgazi and grandson of Artuk. Work appears to have been completed around 1154. The bridge was restored in the late 12th century and again at the start of the 20th century.

The provincial culture and tourism directorate notes that the 17th-century traveller Evliya Çelebi described the bridge as an Abbasid-era masterpiece built as a charitable work by a wealthy Abbasid merchant. The inscription, however, ties it to the Artuqids. It stayed in continuous use until the new road bridge opened in the 1950s.

What is Malabadi Bridge famous for?

• Its arch. The 2002 Diyarbakır inventory calls its arch the widest of any stone bridge in the world. Whatever the ranking, a 38.6 m span was an exceptional achievement for the 12th century.
• Rooms inside the bridge. Built for travellers to rest, sleep and shelter from danger.
• Folk songs. The Batman inventory says the bridge has inspired folk songs (türkü) sung along the Batman River.
• A twin of Mostar. Both the 2002 Batman inventory and the Diyarbakır directorate say it is considered the twin of the Mostar Bridge.

What can you see at Malabadi Bridge?

The main arch. Stand on the riverbank downstream for the full profile of the pointed arch.

The travellers’ rooms. Openings in the spandrels lead to the small chambers built into the bridge.

The three sections. The bridge is made up of three parts of different lengths, set in broken lines. Its middle part sits as a mass on the rocks, and beside the great arch there is a small basket-handle arch about 3 m wide.

The approach ramps. On the east and west, gentle slopes connect the bridge to the old roads.

Frequently asked questions about Malabadi Bridge

What do the official records say about Malabadi Bridge?

Malabadi Bridge, forming the Siirt–Diyarbakır boundary, was built in 1147 by Timurtaş of the Artuqids. It is considered the twin of the Mostar Bridge. This single-arched bridge is entered by two paths. Inside, rooms were built for people to rest and sleep and to protect them from outside dangers. The bridge over the Batman River, which inspired folk songs, consists of three sections, each of a different length and set in broken lines.

The bridge was built of coloured stones. On the east and west it joins the roads with gentle slopes. Its middle section sits as a mass on the rocks. Here there is a very large pointed arch of wide span and a small basket-handle arch with an opening of 3 metres. Besides providing transport, this work of art had many functions, and like Batman’s other monuments, it should certainly be seen by those who are curious. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Batman Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)

(When the inventory was written, Batman province had been created from Siirt only twelve years earlier; the bridge lies in Silvan district, Diyarbakır, and the river is now the Diyarbakır–Batman boundary.)

Main photo: Dyrt, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.