The Malabadi bridge is located at about 23 kilometers (14 miles) to Silvan, a district of Diyarbakir province, on Diyarbakir - Batman provincial border. It is a magnificent Artuklu Seljuk piece which witnessed so many events and is a must-see spot for any tour passing from the area.
Malabadi bridge connects two banks of the stream not on a straight but broken line. Once it stood on the main caravan route to Tabriz. Evliya Celebi, a well known Ottoman traveler narrates the following about the bridge:
The bridge has big iron gates on both sides. There are lodges pass these gates, to the right and to the left, and also under the arch. While some chat, others fish by throwing their nets down to the Batman Brook.
The inscription on the bridge gives the date of construction as 1147-1148. The inscription also reveals that the bridge was built by Timurtas, ruler of the Artuklu in Mardin area, replacing the old bridge. Malabadi bridge has the widest arch width (40,86 meters) among all stone arch bridges in the world. It is 150 meters long, 19 meters high, 7 meters wide (492 ft x 62 ft x 23 ft), and has rooms for travelers and even a toilet from the past. Lion and sun friezes made 9 centuries ago can still be seen today on the stone bridge. Besides several restorations in the near past, lately it was restored by local municipality in 1989.