The Turkish Bridge

The Turkish bridge above Beersheba River was built in 1916 by Jewish workers during the Ottoman rule. The bridge was built as part of the railway tracks for transporting goods and soldiers from the north down to Egypt in the south. Until the 1970s, it was the longest bridge in Israel.

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Until 1920, movement between Beersheba and the British police station in Bir Asluj passed over the bridge. After the conquest of the city in the war of Independence (1947), the bridge again became a passage for vehicles and pedestrians between the city's neighborhoods.

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The bridge was built of yellowish chiseled stone; its full length is 190 meters. It has 20 semi-circular arches in the northern section of the island and 15 arches (one destroyed) in the southern section. This kind of building was typical for Roman engineers.

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The bridge was restored in 1916 and nowadays it connects the Bedouin market and Beersheba amphitheater park.