Tunceli

Also known as Tunceli City, Dersim

Tunceli (; ; ) is a municipality (belde) in Tunceli District and capital of Tunceli Province, Turkey. The city has a Kurdish majority. The population is predominantly Kurdish Alevi, a distinct ethno-religious community whose identity has been shaped by the region's history of autonomy and resistance to central state authority. It had a population of 35,161 in 2021.

AI overview

Tunceli is a city in southeastern Turkey with a population of about 35,000 that serves as the capital of Tunceli Province. The city is notable for having a Kurdish majority population that is predominantly Alevi, an ethno-religious community with a historical identity connected to the region's autonomy and resistance to central authority.

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Place details

Locality: Tunceli
Region: Tunceli
Country: Türkiye
Population: 35,161
Timezone: Europe/Istanbul

Travel guide

Understand

Dersim is the ancient name for the city and province, still occasionally used but politically charged. The early years of the Republic saw a series of uprisings by Kurdish traditional leaders against central authority and "Turkification". This culminated in the Dersim Rebellion of 1937, which provoked heavy military reprisals. Turkish sources acknowledge that some 13,000 civilians were killed and a similar number deported, other sources put the toll much higher.

Get in

The nearest airports are Elazığ () to the south and Erzincan () to the north, both with daily flights from Istanbul.

Those are also the nearest railway stations. Elazığ has a train twice a week from Ankara, heading to Tatvan for connections to Van, Tabriz and Tehran. Erzincan has a daily train from Ankara heading for Erzurum and Kars.

By road follow E80 to Erzincan or D300 to Elazığ: D885 twists and turns through the mountains between those highways. Shorter is the old road from Elazığ, 77 km via the Pertek ferry crossing of Keban barrage lake.

Tuncelililer buses run once a day from Istanbul and Ankara. There are six a day from Erzincan (2 hours) and four from Elazığ.

is central in town.

Get around

Town is walkable but won't take long. You need your own wheels to reach Munzur Valley or the beach.

See

thumb | 300px | Town panorama Tunceli Museum is on Ali Demir Cd next to Grand Şaroğlu Hotel, in a former barracks. It's open daily 08:00-17:00. Mosques are modern though in trad style. The main ones are Paşalar Cami, Paşa Cami, Cem Evi and Yunus Emre Merkez Cami. Munzur Valley National Park is a scenic area in the side-valley 7 km northwest of town. Pertek castle is seen from the ferry on the road from Elazığ: once on an outcrop, it's now an islet in the lake.

Do

Atatürk Stadyumu is the main sports venue, 2 km south of town centre along D885. Beaches are the last thing you'd expect here, but there are sandy beaches on Pülümür River, on D885 8 km east of town.