Istanbul
Groundbreaking ceremony for the third bridge in Istanbul was held on Wednesday with the attendance of Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.and Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek.
The ceremony was held on the 560th anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul, doubled the significance of the day.
Likewise, the bridge is to be completed on May 29, 2015, as Erdogan said at the ceremony, which will be the 562nd anniversary of the conquest of Istanbul.
President Gul announced the name of the new bridge as ''Yavuz Sultan Selim'' and said "The first bridge was named after Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey and the first President. The second one was named after Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, who presented us with Istanbul, while at the same time being honoured to reach the praise of Prophet Muhammad about the conquest of Istanbul. Now, the third bridge is named after Sultan Yavuz Selim. We hope the bridge will be completed on time allowing us to reach Asia from Europe and Europe from Asia."
The first bridge in Istanbul is widely known as "The Bosphorus Bridge" which was completed in 1973 spanning the Bosphorus strait.
Fatih Sultan Mehmet is the second bridge, completed in 1988 and named after the 15th century Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror who conquered Istanbul and brought an end to the control of the Byzantine Empire.
The third one, as announced on Wednesday, will be called "Yavuz Sultan Selim'', who was a Sultan of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century and the first Ottoman sultan taking the title of "Caliph of Islam".
