Delal Bridge, Roman bridge in Zakho, Iraq.

Delal Bridge is a stone bridge over the Khabur River in Zakho, built of rectangular blocks in warm tan and ochre tones. Its single wide semicircular arch springs from a massive pier to a broad abutment, with long dressed stones curving along the arch face and rougher blocks in the spandrels above. The bridge measures about 114 metres long, 4.7 metres wide and rises 15.5 metres above the river.

Delal Bridge is believed to have first been built in the Roman era, but the present structure dates from the Abbasid period. According to the sources, Prince Hasan ordered his deputy in Zakho, Nasser al-Din al-Abbasi, to build a bridge over the Khabur in 935 AH to move army supplies; construction took a year and a half. In 1833 Mir Muhammad of Rawanduz demolished its upper section to block Ottoman troops, and a flood destroyed the northern part in 1969.

The bridge carries the name Delal from a Kurdish legend about a woman sacrificed during construction to ensure its stability. This story remains central to how local people understand and relate to the structure.

Access to the bridge is available via local roads from Zakho, with conditions varying by season. Wearing sturdy footwear and checking local conditions before visiting is recommended.

The bridge walls feature large carved stones with no inscriptions at all, a characteristic that has puzzled archaeologists for years. This absence of identifying marks makes pinpointing the exact construction date quite challenging.