| Uzunköprü | |
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Uzunköprü
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Region | Marmara Region |
| Province | Edirne |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Enis İşbilen (CHP) |
| Area | |
| • City | 1,213 km2 (468.3 sq mi) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Density | 60.6/km2 (157/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 40,154 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Postal code | 22200 |
| Area code(s) | +(90)284 |
| Website | [1] |
Uzunköprü is a small town and a district of Edirne Province in northwestern Turkey.
It is on the railway line from Istanbul towards Sofia, Belgrade and western Europe, and a frontier post on the Greek border.
The "Long Bridge" (Turkish: Uzunköprü) gave its name to the town. The bridge was built between 1426 and 1443 by head architect Muslihiddin on the orders of Ottoman Sultan Murad II. The ancient stone-built bridge, which has 174 arches, is 1,329 m (4,360 ft) long and up to 6.80 m (22.3 ft) wide. Some of the arches are pointed and some are round. Uzunköprü is the longest stone bridge in Turkey.
The bridge was made to cross the Ergene River, which was a natural barrier for advances into the Balkans for the Ottoman Empire; its old name was Ergene Bridge (Ottoman Turkish: Cisr-i Ergene). It is so long in order to cross a low-lying marshy area. The bridge was restored in 1963.
The Edirne – Izmir state road still passes over Uzunkopru.
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