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Roman Bridge - Silves, Portugal

The Roman Bridge of Silves sits beside the N-214 Road in Silves. In the past, this bridge was a sole link of this city to outside world but now this bridge is only used by the pedestrians.

 

It’s name has derived from the fact that once a Roman bridge existed here. Later, Arabs also built a bridge to access the city. The current bridge is from the 15th century and it has five arches and it crosses over River Arade. 

Roman Bridge in Silves
Looking at the path leading towards the Roman Bridge from N-124 Road
Ramp of the bridge which has obstructions in the middle for traffic
A restaurant sits next to the bridge with the same name
Cars parked in front of the bridge
A bench made out of concrete in the middle of the bridge
These steps are created to make it easier for the people to go on the bridge because from this side bridge is slightly higher
Calm waters of River Arade

 

Silves was the capital of Muslim Algarve (al-Garb) and this city was very prosperous in the past. During Muslim times, this river was navigable all the way to the Algarve coast. At one stage in the history of this city, Silves was called the Baghdad of the West. The city itself was surrounded by a defensive wall and most of it’s inhabitants lived inside the walls and this bridge was an outer boundary for the city.

Hills surround the bridge on one side while city is on the opposite side
One of the arches of the bridge
Current bridge is from the 15th century
Fish swimming in the waters of River Arade
In the evening, the water level dropped and river looked sleepy
In this photo, the Roman Bridge can be seen to the right
A car park, the Roman Bridge with a van parked under one of it's arches can be seen here