Haftcheshmeh Bridge

Haftcheshmeh Bridge

Ardabil

Haftcheshmeh Bridge

26
Few Clouds

Once upon a time, Ardabil was the capital city of Iran during the first years of Safavid reign and you can still find many monuments of that era in Ardabil. The Yaddi Goz (in Turkish) or Haftcheshmeh historical bridge is one of them which was built on Baliqluchay River. On the other side of river that crosses countryside, there is a village which is called Dashkasan (stone cutter) because the profession of the most people of village is pottery and masonry; so local people call the bridge Dashkasan Bridge too. This bridge the same as the other Safavid bridges such as Khajou Bridge and Si-O-Se-Pol comprises of huge piers. It also has 7 barrel vaults. The materials used in the body of bridge and the deep basis are plaster, lime and bricks in the exterior facing. the foundation also was constructed so strong and firm.

Although continuous droughts have made the river narrow, but the length and the materials of the basis are the strong evidence of the power and depth of the river during Safavid era. The structure and the firmness of the bridge make it to be a healthy building without any signs of exhaustion. Haftcheshmeh was the witness of many uprisings during the constitutional revolution in Azerbaijan territories. Despite many times that the bridge has been heavily damaged it never collapsed.

The bridge is unique in architecture; in addition, it is exemplary in beauty. It also has political and historical significance in Azerbaijan territories. During Safavid reign the bridge divided the city into two sections; the administrative section in the western side of the bridge and residential in the east.

During the events of the constitutional revolution, it’s quoted, there was a citadel (Narin Qale), a Sassanid citadel, next to the bridge. Nowadays, there are no remains of the mentioned citadel, according to the narratives of the constitutional revolution, Sattar Khan, one of the famous revolutionaries of Azerbaijan, had been arrested in Tabriz and exiled to this citadel. Finally, his followers liberated him from the prison and the rest of the followers waited on the bridge to accompany him toward Tabriz.


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