A Historical Wooden Bridge: Kiremitli Bridge at Egridere Village Near Caykara

Abstract

This work examines a wooden bridge at Egridere Village, located nearly km far from the town of Caykara in Trabzon. It is locally called as the Kiremitli (with tiled roof) Bridge because of its roof that was covered with roof tiles. This bridge has no inscription related to their construction. However, the information provided by the local of the village indicates it was rebuilt in 1938-1940 based on its original form and architectural details. It is reasonable to state that this wooden bridge was first built in the nineteenth century or the early twentieth century and rebuilt in 1938-1940 because of the decays observed on the wooden materials resulted from the humid climate of the eastern Black Sea Region. The main cantilever beams of the bridge sits on the wooden beams extending from a platform sitting on rock bases located on both sides of the stream bed. The bridge has a hipped-roof supported by wooden posts. This bridge deprived of any architectural decorative element is rather noted for its functionality. The wooden material obtained from the chestnut and elm trees common in the region were used in the construction of the bridge. The chestnut tree is particularly preferred for bridge construction in the region because it is long lasting and durable material in rainy environments. The elm tree was used only the beams carrying the bridge's floor made of planks. The Kiremitli Bridge could be accepted as an example of rural architecture built by using locally and readily available raw materials. This wooden bridge displays architectural features typical of traditional rural architecture of the eastern Blacks Sea Region. This wooden bridge best noted with its functional features has parallels both in the Blacks Sea region and in others of parts of Anatolia and surrounding regions. It is hoped that this study will result in better studies of wooden bridges of rural character. It should also be noted that one can also encounter wooden bridges of different type, architecture and buildings techniques in diverse and complex landscape of the eastern Blacks Sea region.