THE CITY OF MUNZUR: TUNCELI

With its mountains presenting a habitat for wildlife, it is also the home of legends with its deep valleys. Would you like to explore Tunceli, a land of unique beauty turned into a bed of flowers with plenteous springs?

With its mountains presenting a habitat for wildlife, it is also the home of legends with its deep valleys. Would you like to explore Tunceli, a land of unique beauty turned into a bed of flowers with plenteous springs?

As can be understood from the song that starts, “Within the roses / Dersim is surrounded by four mountains / Let God protect Dersim / My beloved is in it,” Tunceli, surrounded by mountains on four sides, is full of beauties that are hard to imagine.

The thing that strikes me the most about Tunceli, a city almost each kilometer of which corresponds to a wish tree with hundreds of handkerchiefs and rags tied to it, is that it remained a settlement in a world of its own for centuries with myriads of legends and narratives based, predominantly on people and then on trees, wolves, and birds -in short, on a mindset where each element of nature is deemed important. Wouldn’t you like to get to know the city by tracing these legends?

Let us start with Munzur Baba. He certainly is the most famous hero of the region. Let us tell you, in sum, the story of Munzur Baba who lent his name to the magnificent Munzur mountains, the splendid valley and the bluer-than-blue brook that gives life to the now preserved national park harped on over and over today by the springs of Munzur Brook the banks of which are visited every year by thousands of people. A man referred to in the region as “Father” or “Sage,” who was believed to have come from a venerable descent, sees his deceased daughter in a dream and she says, “Father, open up my tomb. I have a relic for you; come and get it.” When the tomb is opened, a baby suckling on his index finger is inside and the sage takes the child with him. He falls asleep again and this time his daughter visits him and asks him to name the child “Munzur.”

When Munzur grows up to be 7, he starts to shepherd the herds of an agha who lives in the village of Ovacık. As time goes by, the agha goes on pilgrimage and there he gets a craving for the halva his wife makes. Getting an inkling, Munzur goes and tells the agha’s wife, “My agha would like to have halva, I’d take it to him if you make some.” Even though the woman finds it hard to believe, she says, “Poor fellow, clearly he has a craving for halva; let me just make some.” Making the halva,

she hands it to Munzur. In the blink of an eye, Munzur appears beside his agha with the hot halva in hand. Before his agha gets the chance to ask Munzur how this is possible, he disappears.

Returning back from the hajj, the agha is greeted by a huge crowd at the entrance of the village; people try to kiss his hand. Saying, “The one whose hand you need to kiss is actually Munzur,” the agha tells them about the miracle. In the meantime, carrying milk in two buckets hanging from both his shoulders, seeing the villagers running towards him, Munzur panics and heads off to the mountains and no one ever hears of him again. As Munzur runs, milk pours down from the buckets to the ground. And from the 40 places where the milk poured out, water sprouts with white froth. These springs, from which cold water that you will not be able to hold your feet in for even a minute come out even in the hot of summer, are visited by thousands of people each year and offerings are made. Turning Munzur springs veritably into a fairground in the summer, visitors cannot resist having a picnic in the accompaniment of folk songs and Anatolian folk dances, as they pray. No one is a “foreigner” here. Whichever table you sit at, the best food is spread out before you; whichever halay you join, you’ ll be greeted with a smile as you join the holding hands. You should visit this city at least once in your life to experience a brand-new, unique version of being human and becoming one with others. Moreover, there is something more splendid than human love and legends that await you here. Before all else, the mountains covering 70% of the district’s surface create a wonderful habitat for wildlife with the oak and juniper forests above them, the crater lakes at higher altitudes, and the deep valleys below. Specifically, the Munzur Valley National Park and its environs, which setting out from Ovacık cover about 105 acres heading towards Tunceli town center, affectionately safekeep many animal species that are about to become extinct. Along with the hook-horned wild goats,

the mountain goats referred to as “bezuvar” and the ur-partridges, which are among the indigenous species, there are animals like otters, grizzlies, grey wolves, weasels, foxes, badgers, boars, squirrels, mountain sheep, and many birds of prey in the intemerate rural areas of the region. The animal that draws the most attention among these is the Anatolian bobcat. You might recall how happy nature lovers were to when these endangered bobcats were spotted in the Pülümür and Mazgirt boroughs last year.

Fed with the snow coming from the lofty mountains of Tunceli, the streams are quite rich in trout, European chub, and dace. It is also possible to come across catfish in the lower parts when the water of Munzur warms up a bit. The region’s most important fish is the brook trout that can be seen in an 80-kilometer-area starting at the springs of Munzur and extending towards the Tunceli center. Also known as the “pearl of Munzur” and “mountain trout,” even though this special fish that loves clean and cold waters is considered sacred by the people of the region, it is about to become extinct due to reckless fishing.

Along with all these species, oak and juniper coming first and foremost, different types of trees and shrubs like silver birch, witch elm, plane tree, vine, ash tree, and common hazel also prosper in the Munzur mountains. Among these are special species that are quite rare in Anatolia like the common birch. Having started talking about plants, let us not continue without saying that there are 1,518 plant species on record in relation to the flora of Munzur Valley, and that whilst 43 of them are endemic to the Munzur Mountains, 227 of them are endemic to Turkey. As you might imagine, most of the plants endemic to Munzur consist of flowers and herbs: Munzur

thyme, Munzur violet, buttercup, painted daisy, bluebell, wild cherry, yellow pheasant’s eye, ironwort, and lots of other plants, along with the colorful prairie flowers that you may be able to come by especially in April, May, and June. These will not only be a feast for the eyes but will also impress you with their unforgettable scents.

Giving life to all these beauties with its clear waters, Munzur Brook is a good choice for those who would like to go rafting. Having hosted the Rafting Championship of Turkey last year, Tunceli is getting ready to host athletes and spectators from all around the world for the World Rafting Championship in June. Considered to be one of the world’s best rafting routes, it is a splendid experience to enjoy both the water and the lush green of Munzur Brook! You can also sunbathe and swim at the beaches formed along its banks. You are very surprised, right? But

it’s true! Munzur Brook is at a distance that can easily be accessed from the city center. Besides swimming and rafting, you can also ride gondolas and canoes to enjoy the fresh air and the waters. Moreover, activities related to water are not limited to these in Tunceli. Having 56 rooms, the Thermal Resort located in the borough of Pertek, right at the stop where you disembark the ferry coming from Elazığ to Tunceli, provides the chance all year round to enjoy the therapeutic effects of the healing waters said to be good for treating many ailments, like MS. Let us also note that the Bağın Thermal Springs Resort located in the village of Dedebağ in Mazgirt borough is one of the other oft-visited healing spring waters.

A very small city, Tunceli is not only home to many valleys, waterfalls, picnic areas, mineral and thermal springs, but also continues to host many historical relics -the most famous of which is the Mausoleum of Uzun

Hasan- concentrated in Çemişgezek and its environs like tombs, mosques, churches, madrasahs, castles, bridges, and carved rocks. The most important historical relics in the Tunceli town center are the military mess built in the early Republic era and the barracks used as lodgings today. Spread to many of the city’s boroughs and said to represent the Aq QoyunluTorkoman tradition, the tombstones shaped like rams and sheep with reliefs of figures representing the gender, station, and vocation of the deceased, draw the attention of history lovers. Among the surviving stones, eleven have reached our time altogether in the Sağlamtaş village in Pülümür borough.

Are you still here? Distances are not that far now! The Pertek ferry jetty, where you can board a service every half an hour, is only 36 kilometers from Elazığ Airport while it will take you two hours to get to Tunceli town center from Erzincan Airport (123 km). Believe me, what you will experience in Tunceli will be well worth it!