Appropriate Technology Edition: Bridge & Raft

turkce links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 10 September 2014)


       "Hey, why didn't I think of that!"

Craftsmen restoring the mosque in Caykara district of Trabzon
province were having difficulty moving the stones for the
job up to dome of the structure so they built a bridge to reacg
it. Because of weather conditions in the area, work can only
be done during 5 months of the year and after the work reached
the 5 meter level the craftsmen decided to build a 50 meter-long
bridge that is 15 meters high.

The stones are transported to the dome of the mosque in a
pick-up truck using the bridge, saving both time and effort.
Enver Yildirim, who is the job's foreman, said that "every
time the truck goes up the bridge I think 'what happens if
there's an accident? How will we explain this?' But with the
brains and courage of a Black Sea man we overcame this
challenge."

Yildirim explained that the restoration began three years
ago and the mosque will be opened for worshipers in the
coming year.  Stone craftsman Dursun Birinci, remarked
that "anyone who sees this bridge would say that 'this is
crazy.' but using our brains and our courage we've speeded
up the job."

Caykara district is in SE Trabzon province.

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turkce links to original Turkish article

(Sabah Newspaper, 10 September 2014)


     Pretty much the same after 2,000 years.

Villagers in Siirt's Kelekciler village, where the Tigris River
meets the Botan Stream, use an age-old boat called a 'kelek'
for their transportation needs.  The keleks are the only way
the villagers of Kelekciler can move in and out of their village,
which sits at the junction of Siirt, Batman and Mardin
provinces.

Bayram Toprak who has been a kelek boatman for years,
explained that "we transport the villagers from Siirt to
Mardin and from Mardin to Siirt. We gave all the villagers
cards with our phone number on it. When they call we go
get them at the shore and take them where they want to
go. We wait here and they get in touch with us. We charge
2 TL ($1) per person. We take cargo but transporting
animals can be a problem. Sometimes the animals jump
into the river."

This raft-like transport across the Tigris is expected to
come to an end when the Ilisu Dam begins to collect
water in the coming year. Then, this half hour transit
will take 4 hours.


                     Southeastern Turkey