AN EXAMPLE OF BRİDGE PAVİLİONS: EDİRNE MECİDİYE BRİDGE HİSTORİCAL AND VİEWİNG PAVİLİON

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. Meriç/Mecidiye Bridge, which has a special place among the Edirne bridges of the Ottoman period, constitutes the subject of our study. The bridge that connects Edirne city center to Karaağac 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 was built by his son Sultan Abdülmecit in between 1842-1847 (H.1258-1263) and its architect is unknown. In the middle of the bridge there is a marble inscription pavilion and on the opposite side of this, a marble balcony in the form of a observation pavilion is located. 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 a bridge inscription pavilion. Within the scope of 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.