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The world’s longest suspension bridge, which connects Europe and Asia across the Dardanelles Strait, has officially opened for use and it is quite the marvel. On Friday, President Erdogan of Turkey, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum of South Korea and various other officials inaugurated the massive bridge that connects the two sides of Turkey – one which lies in Europe and the other in Asia – and will save the 1.5-hour ferry ride that it would usually take to cross.
Standing at 2,023 meters (6,637 feet) between the two towers, the 1915 Canakkale Bridge is now the largest suspension bridge in the world.
“Turkey has overtaken Japan, which has the longest bridge in the world in terms of the midspan, and has taken the first place,” said President Erdogan during the inauguration, report AP News.
The bridge took almost five years to construct and was built by both Turkish and South Korean companies to strengthen ties between the two nations, costing $2.7 billion (£2.06 billion). It is now the only motorway in Turkey that links both Europe and Asia outside of Istanbul, and the journey itself takes just 6 minutes.
The bridge connects Gelibolu, on the European side and Lapseki on the Asian side. Its name – 1915 Canakkale Bridge – references a major naval victory of the Ottoman empire over British forces during World War I as the Brits attempted to take control over the strait.
