Özet:

Edirne, the capital of the Ottoman State for a long time, was established on the slopes of an undulating terrain that bound the fertile plain where the rivers Arda and Tunca merge with the river Meric. Thirteen bridges were built over mentioned rivers as an extension of the roads in the city, which was the gate of the Ottoman to the Balkans and Europe. Mecidiye Bridge, which has an important place among the Edirne bridges of the Ottoman period, constitutes the subject of our study. The bridge that connects Edirne city center to Karaağac settlement is over the river Meric and is also known by different names as “Meric, Mahmudiye, Yeni, Dış, İkinci, Demirtaş, Sultan Mecid, Sultan Abdülmecid and Mecidiye Koprusu”. The bridge that was previously wooden, decided to be rebuilt as masonry during the visit of Sultan Mahmut II to Edirne, but the bridge that was started to built in 1833 (H: 1249), left unfinished due to financial reasons and the death of the Sultan. The bridge was built by Sultan Mahmut II and his son Sultan Abdülmecit in between 1842-1847 (H.1258-1263) and its architect is unknown. In the center of the bridge there is a marble inscription pavilion and on the opposite side of this, a marble balcony in the form of an observation pavilion is located. The inscription pavilion, which is covered with a cavetto vault, stands on four marble pillars which have arched openings. There is an inauthentic building inscription in a rectangular pediment that stands on two marble pillars on the front facade of pavilion. The original inscription of pavilion was destroyed during the occupation of Edirne by the Greeks, the text was re-written on marble and placed on the pavilion in 1966. This pavilion that carries the inscription of the bridge, has not been studied sufficiently before and has a separate importance in terms of architectural and ornamental features. Another important feature of the pavilion is that the inner face of the vaulted top cover is embellished with mural paintings that belong to the westernization period. The mural paintings generally seen in buildings such as palaces, mansions, waterside mansions, mosques, tombs, fountains and lodges, are first encountered in a different structure such as bridge inscription pavilion. In this study, the historical and architectural features of the bridge will be briefly examined. The pavilions of the bridge will be introduced in terms of their functions and architectural features and compared with similar examples. The ornaments of the inscription pavilion will be emphasized in detail for the first time. Especially empirical facade ornaments and paintings of the inner face of vaulted top cover will be defined and compared with similar examples. The absence of a detailed study other than a general study on inscription pavilions of bridges makes this study special and necessary.

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