In southeastern Türkiye's Bitlis, a city home to many civilizations over its long history, ancient bridges built centuries ago that have been cleared of old structures around them are being restored to their former glory.
Restoration work on 10 historical bridges continues in Bitlis under the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, in a project that also hopes to boost the tourism of the city.
Six of the bridges are scheduled to be completed this year and have already been strengthened, had their missing pieces repaired and their damaged stones replaced.
Hasan Ali Arslan, regional director of highways, who examined the restoration works, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the historical richness and texture of Bitlis had been overshadowed by structural noise. Arslan explained that the historical bridges were in a sense unearthed as they removed structures built on and around the Bitlis Stream.
"There were 10 bridges (on the stream bed). Since it is in our field of duty and responsibility, it fell to us to repair the bridges," Arslan said.
Arslan stated that apart from the Hatuniye Bridge, there were no inscriptions on the bridges. The Hatuniye Bridge was built by Nuh Khan in the 16th century, he said.
Arslan noted that they started work after receiving approval from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
"All of the bridges are built using cut stone. A serious effort is put into their repair. We remove all the damaged stones and replace them with new cut stones. We use two types of stones, known as basalt and Bitlis complex."
"Our repair work continues. We aim to complete six of the 10 bridges this year," Arslan said. "There is the Bitlis Castle on one side of the stream and residential areas on the other. Many bridges have been built in the 16th century to connect (settlements to the castle)."
Arslan said that the project was important for the history of Bitlis. "We believe that this will add great value to Bitlis. We used to always call Bitlis a historical city, but we couldn't see its history.
Once the restoration is complete "it will be a beautiful image," Arslan said.
