The Malabadi Bridge (Turkish: Malabadi Köprüsü) is an arch bridge spanning
the Batman River near the town of Silvan in south-eastern Turkey. It was
built between 1146 and 1147. It was restored in the late twelfth century,
and recently in the beginning of the 20th century. It was once the only bridge
across the river in this area, and was in continuous use until the 1950s,
when a new road bridge was opened upstream. The bridge is 150 m long and 7 m wide,
19 m in height.
Before the bridge was built there was no way over the deep and wide river.
That is why people of the surrounding usually think that the bridge connected
two big provinces for the first time. This brought up many legends, one of
which is a beautiful story of a man and a woman who live on the other sides
of the river and have only seen each other from the distance. When the bridge
is finally ready, they meet each other on top of the bridge and they fell in
love so deep that it has stayed as a legend.
This was the idea when Restaurant Malabadi was founded; to connect Turkish and
Finnish people and culture through food and honor founders, Fayzal Bilmez's,
homecounty and family.
