An arch from 1696
A single pointed stone arch, forty metres long and twenty high, standing over the Fırtına for three centuries.
A single stone arch vaults twenty metres above the Fırtına river and has stood there since 1696 through the floods of this unruly valley; the inscription slab that once dated it was swept away in the flood of 1946. This is Şenyuva Bridge, or Çinçiva after the old name the village carried until 1959, and it is the best-known of the Fırtına valley's historic arch bridges and one of its most graceful: a pointed arch that peaks at the centre, about forty metres end to end, and still crossed on foot today. What earns the stop is the setting as much as the structure. Şenyuva's old timber houses are scattered up the slope, dense forest runs right down to the water, and the river never stops talking. It is also a place you understand in seconds and photograph from the road, so we will be plain: this is a fifteen-minute halt, not a destination. Anyone already heading up the valley will not regret pulling over; anyone thinking of driving from Rize for the bridge alone should fold it into a day with Zilkale castle and Ayder instead. Getting there: from Rize city it is about 73 km, roughly an hour and a quarter by car along the coast road to Ardeşen, then up the valley to Çamlıhemşin; the bridge is about 7 km beyond the town on the same road that continues to Zilkale. No ticket, no gate, no opening hours; it sits at the roadside with space to pull in. The Çamlıhemşin to Ayder dolmuş minibuses pass close by, but most Gulf and Levant visitors come by hire car or on a day tour from Rize or Trabzon. For families: walking over the bridge is easy with only a few steps, but the parapets are low and the river below is powerful, so hold small children's hands and stay off the wet rocks. The valley is noticeably cooler than the coast, a relief in August; in winter the road usually stays open to this point, though snow and fog hide the view and the stretch above Zilkale can close.
A single pointed stone arch, forty metres long and twenty high, standing over the Fırtına for three centuries.
Şenyuva's old wooden houses and the forest running to the bank make the picture, not the bridge alone.
On the same road to Zilkale castle and Ayder, so make it a pause on a valley day rather than a trip of its own.
Şenyuva village, Zilkale road, Çamlıhemşin, Rize
No. An hour and a quarter each way for a fifteen-minute stop does not add up. Combine it with Zilkale castle, the Ayder plateau and the town of Çamlıhemşin in one day, and the bridge becomes the prettiest pause on the road.
Yes, the crossing is short and easy, but the parapets are low and the river below is strong, so hold small hands and skip the wet rocks at the bank. A pushchair struggles with the steps and the hump of the arch.
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