The central arch
A 21.5 m span beneath the crest.
Sali Jonuzi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Julianruizp — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Diego Delso — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cyril Wendl — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Arianit Dobroshi — CC BY-SA 4.0
An Ottoman stone bridge over the Kir river at the village of Mes, about 7 km north-east of central Shkodër as the crow flies. About 108 m long and 3.4 m wide, it crosses on 13 arches of varying sizes, its cobbled deck rising to a crest over the central arch, which spans 21.5 m. Albania's heritage authorities call it the country's largest surviving Ottoman-era bridge. Albanian heritage sources date it to 1768 and credit Mehmed Pasha Bushati, then Ottoman governor of Shkodër; some guidebooks name his son Kara Mahmud Pasha. It carried the road to Drisht and the Kir valley, part of an old trade route towards Kosovo. It rose in two phases: first the central arch and three arches beside it, then, after floods outflanked it, smaller arches at both ends. The humped deck is now a footpath, renovated in 2010, and benches and a panel telling its story stand at its western end. Pointed openings flank the main arch, and the modern road bridge alongside gives a full side view. In spring the Kir runs turquoise over white gravel; by late summer its bed can be almost dry. Mes lies about 8 km from central Shkodër by road: 10 to 15 minutes by car or taxi, or a bike ride on mostly flat roads. The western bank has free parking, cafés and a restaurant. Rozafa Castle and the Lead Mosque lie about 10 km south-west as the crow flies, and the hilltop ruins of Drisht Castle 6 km east by road.
A 21.5 m span beneath the crest.
Of varied sizes, built in two phases.
Turquoise water in spring, white gravel by late summer.
Mes village, on the Kir river north-east of Shkodër
Its line is not straight: about 5 m from the main arch it turns by 14 degrees, because massive rocks in the riverbed forced the change of direction.
In summer people cool off in the river below the bridge, but by late summer the water can all but vanish, and after heavy rain the Kir runs high and fast. Swim only in calm, clear water.