Three bridges in Istanbul, Turkey

The Bosphorus Bridge, also called the First Bosphorus Bridge or simply the First Bridge is one of two suspension bridges spanning the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul, Turkey; thus connecting Europe and Asia (the other one is the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, which is called the Second Bosphorus Bridge). The bridge is located between Ortaköy (on the European side) and Beylerbeyi (on the Asian side).

It is a gravity anchored suspension bridge with steel towers and inclined hangers. The aerodynamic deck hangs on zigzag steel cables. It is 1,560 m long with a deck width of 33.40 m. The distance between the towers (main span) is 1,074 m and the total height of the towers is 165 m. The clearance of the bridge from sea level is 64 m.

The Bosphorus Bridge was the 4th longest suspension bridge span in the world (and the longest outside the United States) when it was completed in 1973. At present, it is the 22nd longest suspension bridge span in the world.

Since April 2007, a fully computerized LED lighting system of changing colours and patterns, developed by Philips, illuminates the bridge at night.

The current Galata Bridge (the fifth one) was built by the Turkish construction company STFA just a few meters away from the previous bridge, between Karaköy and Eminönü, and completed in December 1994. It was designed and supervised by GAMB (Göncer Ayalp Engineering Company). It is a bascule bridge, which is 490 m long with a main span of 80 m. The deck of the bridge is 42 m wide and has three vehicular lanes and one walkway in each direction. It has also recently had tram tracks re-added to it, allowing the Istanbul Tram to run from Zeytinburnu in the suburbs near Atatürk International Airport to Kabataş, a few blocks before Dolmabahçe Palace. This bridge along with Trowse Bridge in Norwich, Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam, a number of bridges in Saint Petersburg in Russia, a number of railway bridges in the United States may be the only movable bridges in the world that also carry electrified rail tracks.

Haliç Bridge, which literally means the Estuary Bridge, is a highway bridge on the Golden Horn in Istanbul, Turkey. It connects the neighbourhoods of Ayvansaray in the south and Halıcıoğlu in the north. The O-1 highway passes through the Haliç Bridge.

It was constructed between 1971 and 1974, and entered service on 10 September 1974. The engineering firms which undertook the construction works were IHI Corporation of Japan and Julius Berger-Bauboag AG of Germany.

The bridge has a length of 995 metres, width of 32 metres, and height of 22 metres above sea level.