The Great Nile Bridge, Egypt, ca 1930s
This is an unused, divided back postcard with a black & white photograph that was tinted. There are no identifying letters or numbers, however, there is a blurb at the upper left on the reverse: “The Great Nile Bridge, Egypt. – The Great Nile Bridge was built jointly by the British and Egyptian governments. It is a modern structure, and is considered one of the greatest bridges in Egypt. The crowded condition of this bridge gives an idea of the enormous traffic and how necessary a bridge of this character was.”
Today the bridge is named The Qasr al Nil Bridge, sometimes written as just Qasr el Nil Bridge. It was formerly known as the Khedive Ismail Bridge and dates from 1931. There was an earlier bridge at this same crossing built between 1869 and 1871 name El Gezira Bridge. These bridges all spanned the Nile River in central Cairo connecting the east bank of the river to the southern end of Gezira/Zamalek Island facilitating transportation of people and goods between the two banks of the Nile. Prior to the bridges being built the crossing was done by sailing boats placed next to each other and connected by planks of wood for people to walk on to get across the river. The current bridge is a popular place to stroll across in the evenings.
The bridge has eight parts, including a movable part that was manually opened with gears to allow boats and ships to cross. There are four bronze lions each set upon a pillar at the ends of the bridge. One of the pillars can be seen left on the card. The bridge is about 10 meters or 33 feet above the Nile to accommodate the river in its flood stage.
For additional information, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qasr_El_Nil_Bridge
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