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Research dossier · Places & Architecture

Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge

bridge in İstanbul, Turkey

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 7, 2026
Entity authorityQ369967 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge ("Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror Bridge"; Turkish: Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü, abbreviated as F.S.M. Köprüsü), also known as the Second Bosphorus Bridge (İkinci Köprü), is a bridge in Istanbul, Turkey spanning the Bosphorus Strait (Turkish: Boğaziçi). When completed in 1988, it was the 5th-longest suspension bridge span in the world.

The bridge is named after the 15th-century Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, who conquered the Byzantine capital, Constantinople (Istanbul), in 1453. It carries the European route E80, Asian Highway 1, Asian Highway 5 and Otoyol 2 highways.

Three other bridges that connect Europe and Asia are located in Turkey, which are named Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, 15 July Martyrs Bridge (formerly known as Bosphorus Bridge) and the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge.

Location

The bridge is situated between Istanbul Hisarüstü (European side) and Kavacık (Asian side). It is a gravity-anchored suspension bridge with steel pylons and vertical hangers. The aerodynamic deck hangs on double vertical steel cables. It is 1,510 m long with a deck width of 39 m. The distance between the towers (main span) is 1,090 m and their height over the road level is 105 m.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge” is bridge in İstanbul, Turkey. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Fatih, Sultan and Mehmet, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1988, 1453, 1915—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1988. For this dossier, Fatih, Sultan and Mehmet is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “bridge in İstanbul, Turkey” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q369967. Authority coordinates are 41.091, 29.061. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1988, 1453 and 1915.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge primary sources, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge archive and Fatih research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge”?
  2. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
  3. Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.