The current Galata Bridge is actually the fifth bridge built here to span the Golden Horn. The first Galata Bridge at the mouth of the waterway was constructed in 1845 by Valide Sultan, the mother of Sultan Abdülmecid (1839-1861) and used for 18 years. This bridge was replaced by a second wooden bridge in 1863, built by Ethem Pertev Pasha on the orders of Sultan Abdülaziz (1861-1876) during the infrastructure improvement works prior to the visit of Napoleon III to Istanbul. In 1870 a contract was signed with a French company, Forges et Chantiers de la Mediteranée for construction of a third bridge, but the outbreak of war between France and Germany delayed the project, which was given instead to a British firm G. Wells in 1872. This bridge, completed in 1875, was 480 m long and 14 m wide and rested on 24 pontoons. It was used until 1912 when the fourth bridge was built but this was badly damaged in a fire in 1992 and towed up the Golden Horn to make way for the modern bridge now in use. If you walk over it you´ll see, literally, dozens of locals fishing in the Golden Horn. (Location: Turkey)
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