Stone Bridge (Kars)

Taşköprü Taşköprü
Taşköprü seen from downstream
Coordinates	40°36′42″N 43°05′19″E / 40.61167°N 43.08861°E / 40.61167; 43.08861 (Taşköprü)
Locale	Kars, Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey
Other name(s)	Stone Bridge
Characteristics
Design	Arch bridge
Material	Stone masonry
No. of spans	3
History
Construction end	1579, 1719
Location

Taşköprü, or the Stone Bridge, is a stone three-arch bridge over the Kars River, northwest of Kars city center and directly south of the Castle of Kars. The bridge is 53.5 m long and 8.40 m wide.

The bridge was built in 1579 of ashlar basalt blocks as part of a program of works in Kars by Lala Mustafa Pasha, who became Sultan Murad III's grand vizier the following year. This bridge was subsequently destroyed by a flood, and it was rebuilt in 1719 (some records say 1725) by Karahanoğlu Haci Ebubekir Bey, one of the leaders of Kars. It was restored by the 18th Region of the Highways Directorate in 2013.^[1]