Pira Delal

Delal, Zakho Bridge, Pira Delal or Pirdí Delal informally known also as Pira Beri. made of stonesstone bridge, is an ancient bridge over the Khabur river in the town of Zakho, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The bridge is about 115 metres long and 16 metres high. Pira Delal is believed to have been first built during the Roman era, while the present structure appears to be from the Abbasic era. Kurdish people all over Kurdistan visit the great Pira Delal as a monument of peace and enjoyment throughout the family. One of the legends regarding construction of the bridge relates that the hands of the builder were amputated to ensure that the bridge would remain unique.

According to a common myth associated with the bridge, the prince of Bohtan had ordered a skilled constructor to build him a bridge on the Tigris river. Once the bridge was complete, the prince chopped off the right hand of the builder as a reward for the good work he had done on the bridge, and so that he may never build another bridge that well-crafted anywhere else. When the builder arrived in Zakho City, the mayor of the city requested the builder to build a bridge that will connect the two sides of the Khabur river that goes to Zakho.