Rana and Selçuk Alagöz Malabadi Köprüsü (1975)
The Turkish Malabadi Bridge was built in 1147 under the Artuqid dynasty. It spans the Batman River near Silvan in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır and is not only a remarkable feat of medieval engineering but also an edifice rich in folklore. With its massive 40-meter stone arch, it has long been admired for its architecture, but it’s also remembered for the stories attached to it:
One of the most enduring local legends tells of a young man named Bad, who fell in love with a girl living on the other side of the river. Since they couldn’t reach each other, they spoke across the water. One day, the girl tried to cross the river, was caught by the current and drowned. The inconsolable Bad requested a bridge from the local ruler so that no one would ever have to suffer the same fate again. Construction began, but when its wide arch proved challenging, Bad was asked to complete it under one cruel condition: fail and lose a hand; succeed and lose it anyway. He completed the bridge, and according to legend it was named “Malabadi” after him: “the house of Bad” in Kurdish.
That tragedy resonates in today’s song by musical siblings Selçuk and Rana Alagöz, who were part of the wave of artists blending Anatolian folk traditions with the emerging sound of Turkish pop. “Malabadi Köprüsü” tells of a young couple whose secret relationship, once discovered, ends in death. The story is fictional but familiar, echoing the story of the legendary bridge: quiet testimony to a love that never stood a chance.
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