Karkamış Bridge

36°49′48″N 38°01′29″E / 36.8301°N 38.0246°E / 36.8301; 38.0246Carries1 track of the Baghdad railwayCrossesEuphratesLocaleKarkamış, Gaziantep Province and Çiçekalan, Şanlıurfa ProvinceNamed forKarkamışOwnerTurkish State RailwaysCharacteristicsMaterialSteelTotal length870 m (2,850 ft)^[1]No. of spans10HistoryDesignerHolzmann & Co.Constructed byCIOBConstruction start1911Construction end1913; 111 years ago (1913)Inaugurated11 July 1914^[2]Location

The Karkamış Bridge (Turkish: Karkamış Köprüsü) is a Parker-truss bridge carrying the Baghdad Railway across the Euphrates in southeastern Turkey.

The bridge was built by the Baghdad Railway between 1911 and 1913 in the Ottoman Empire and played an important role for transporting troops and supplies during World War I, 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.^[3] This new company owned and operated the railway until being absorbed by the Turkish State Railways in 1948.^[4]

When first completed, the structure was the second longest bridge in the Ottoman Empire and later Turkey, after Uzunköprü Bridge in East Thrace.

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