10 Facts About Tunceli Province

The least densely-populated province in Turkey, it was originally named Dersim Tunceli Province, then demoted to a district and incorporated into Elazig Tunceli Province in 1926.

Tunceli Province is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude.

Tunceli Province is a plateau characterized by its high, thickly forested mountain ranges.

Tunceli Province, which is a modern name, literally means "the land of bronze" in Turkish .

In 1935, the Tunceli Law was passed, which established a state of emergency in the region, changed its name to Tunceli and made it a separate province consisting of the Nazimiye, Hozat, Mazgirt, Pertek, Ovacik and Cemisgezek districts of Elazig Province and the Pulumur District of Erzincan Province.

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In January 1936, the Fourth Inspectorate-General was created, which spanned the provinces of Elazig, Erzincan, Bingol and Tunceli and was governed by a Governor-Commander, who had the authority to evacuate whole villages and resettle them in other regions.

In 1946 the Tunceli Province Law was abolished and the state of emergency removed but the authority of the Fourth UM was transferred to the military.

Tunceli Province has the lowest population density of any province in Turkey, at just 9.

The people of Tunceli have been actively fighting to get their province reverted to its old Kurdish name "Dersim".

Tunceli Province is known for its old buildings such as the Celebi Aga Mosque, Elti Hatun Mosque, Mazgirt Castle, Pertek Castle, and the Derun-i Hisar Castle.