Abstract:

Uzunköprü, where the historical structure is located, is a district center attached to the province of Edirne, in the Thrace part of the Marmara Region. Lying in the Maritsa and Ergene river basins, Uzunköprü Cisr-i Ergene has 47km of length to the south of Edirne on a slope that is completely covered with earth at a slight angle towards Ergene valley that lies to the north. The historical structure is at an average height of 15km from sea level. On the Edirne motorway route, Uzunköprü today is still accessible by motorway. The Ottomans built Uzunköprü to attach Anatolia to Rumelia from the northern Marmara coast towards the Danube and to cross the Ergene River which was the first hurdle. Having the characteristic of being the longest stone bridge in our country, it was first built as a wooden bridge for Murat II and later turned into a masonry bridge. The bridge underwent repairs during the reigns of Osman II, Mahmud II and Abdülhamid II. The historical bridge that has provided uninterrupted service since 1427 is 1392m long, 5,5m wide with 174 arches, has suffered environmental and human based damages and continues to provide exemplary service. Because of its artistic and cultural significance and ongoing function for many centuries, has a high esteem in today’s engineering field. In terms of its construction features, historical Uzunköprü is a masonry stone bridge. Recently, due to heavy traffic, work is being conducted to divert the traffic to a new route and as a result the bridge will undergo maintenance work. In this regard, the restoration and conservation of certain historical structures on the bridge will be carried out by inter-disciplinary work geomorphology, geology, geotechnics, geophysics, architectural survey, characteristics of the construction materials, architectural status and observations and research studies on Uzunköprü will be presented as a model. As a result of these activities at Uzunköprü, recommendations are made regarding the performance and the rehabilitation of the structure

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