Hudaferin Bridges

Khudaferinsky bridges are a unique ancient structure belonging to the XII-XIII centuries. There is no exact data, so historians call the time of construction approximately. These engineering monuments connect the southern and northern banks of the Araks River in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The crossing is located just between the villages of Hudaferin (after whom the bridges are named) and Kumlak.

Iranian historian Hamdallah Qazwini mentions in his notes that the first of the bridges, the “big one”, was built in 636, but this date is unlikely. At the moment, this bridge is still functioning and makes it possible to cross the Araks River. The ancient Arabs used a river cobblestone and a square-shaped burnt brick during its construction. The bridge foundations were not built artificially – nature took care of everything. Thus, the bridge rests on the natural exits of the rock. Because of this, its shape is not perfectly straight. The length of the “big” bridge is 200 meters, the width is 4.5 meters. It rises 10 meters above the water.

The small bridge was built later, in the XIII century, for the rapid crossing of a large number of people from one bank to the other. Its length was 130 meters, width - 6 meters. The bridge is currently destroyed.