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Opened in 1973 as the first bridge to span the Bosphorus, the 15 July Martyrs Bridge connects the European and Asian shores of Istanbul and stands as a symbol of the city that famously straddles two continents. Stretching more than a kilometre between Ortakoy on the European side and Beylerbeyi on the Asian, the elegant suspension bridge was designed by British engineers and built in just over three years, its completion timed to the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic. For fifteen years it was the only road link between the two sides of Istanbul, and it transformed the life of the city, easing movement across the strait and helping fuel the rapid growth that has seen the population swell many times over. Originally called simply the Bosphorus Bridge, and still widely known as the First Bridge, it was renamed in 2016 to honour those who lost their lives resisting the attempted coup of 15 July that year, events in which the bridge itself played a part. Carrying heavy traffic high above the busy waterway, it is not open to pedestrians, but it is best appreciated from the shore, from a Bosphorus cruise or from the waterside districts beneath it, and it is especially striking at night when it is illuminated and sometimes lit in colour. A feat of engineering and a powerful emblem of the meeting of Europe and Asia, the bridge is among the most recognisable landmarks of Istanbul. The bridge's slender deck, suspended from two tall steel towers by sweeping cables, was an advanced design for its time, drawing on the engineering of Britain's great suspension bridges, and at its opening it ranked among the longest in the world. Its construction marked a turning point in the development of Istanbul, binding the European and Asian halves of the city ever more tightly and accelerating the growth that has made it one of the largest metropolises on earth. The renaming in 2016 gave the structure a new layer of meaning, commemorating the civilians who confronted tanks on the bridge during the failed coup, and a memorial at its European end honours them. For visitors, the bridge is part of the spectacle of the Bosphorus itself, best enjoyed from the water on one of the popular strait cruises, from the waterside cafes and mosques of Ortakoy beneath it, or from the hilltop viewpoints that take in the sweep of the strait. Floodlit and often illuminated in changing colours after dark, the 15 July Martyrs Bridge is both a vital artery and one of the iconic images of Istanbul spanning two continents.