Tunceli

Tunceli exists because mountains exist. This province possesses Turkey's lowest population density—12 inhabitants per square kilometer, 89,317 people total—because its terrain excludes large-scale settlement. Deep valleys carved by the Munzur River isolate communities that maintained autonomy until the 20th century. The name itself tells the story: "Dersim" in Zazaki means "silver door," a gateway guarded by geography.

The province was renamed Tunceli in 1935, the same year a "Tunceli Law" established emergency rule. In 1937-38, state-ordered operations killed an estimated 13,000 to 70,000 people—Zaza Kurds, primarily Alevi, whose remoteness had preserved their distinct identity. A Turkish Prime Minister formally apologized in 2011, acknowledging what historians call the Dersim Massacre. Today, Tunceli remains Turkey's only Alevi-majority province, speaking Zazaki (a UNESCO endangered language) and Kurmanji Kurdish.

The economy reflects the terrain: animal breeding, salt extraction from mineral deposits, some wheat where valleys permit. But Tunceli's greatest economic potential lies in what isolation preserved—the Munzur Valley National Park spans 42,000 hectares as Turkey's largest, with endemic flora, high-altitude meadows, rafting on the Munzur River, and skiing at Ovacik. Ecotourism and adventure travel could monetize inaccessibility.

By 2026, Tunceli's trajectory tests whether remoteness can become asset rather than liability. In 2019, Turkey's first Communist Party mayor was elected; the Municipal Council voted to restore the historic name Dersim and offer services in Zazaki. Political distinctiveness mirrors geographic distinctiveness—the province exists because it was too mountainous to absorb, and that independence persists.