Ovacık (Tunceli)

Ovacık (Tunceli)

Ovacık, formerly Nahîye-i Ovacık, is a district of Tunceli province in the Eastern Anatolia Region. It was a township within Çemişgezek until 1879. In the 2000s, Ovacık villages bordering Çemişgezek were further separated by being connected to Hozat. The settlement takes its name from the plain where it is located on the southern foothills of the Munzur Mountains, located in the northwest of Tunceli province. The region in which the district is located came under Byzantine rule after the Roman Empire was divided into two in 395 AD. Although Arab Islamic tribes dominated the region in 639, after a while it came under Byzantine rule again. The Turks entered the region after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. In the early 1200s, Ahmet Gazi, one of the Mengüç Beys, dominated the Erzincan region and was also influential in the Ovacık region. In the 1230s, it came under the rule of the Anatolian Seljuk State. After the Mongols defeated the Anatolian Seljuk State, the region came under Mongol control. It is known that it entered the borders of the Ottoman Empire after the Battle of Ovacık in 1515. At that time, Ovacık was not a district, but a township called Nihaye-i Ovacık in the Çemişgezek region. It was ruled by Pir Hüseyin Bey and Çemişgezek Beys for a long period. As a result of the administrative regulation made with the Tanzimat movements, Ovacık, which was connected to Dersim province in 1879 with Hozat as its center, was connected to Mamuret'ül Aziz (Elazığ) province in 1886. In 1908, the district organization was organized in the center of Yeşilyazı (Zeranik) subdistrict, and when the province of Tunceli was established in 1936, it was affiliated with this province. In 1937, the district organization was removed from Yeşilyazı subdistrict and was established as Ovacık district on Pulur village, which is today's district center. It is thought that Ovacık, located in the north of Tunceli, took its name from the 74 km2 plain located between the mountains. It is the largest district of the province in terms of land, with an area of 1538 km2. Located 65 km away from the city center, Ovacık is surrounded by Erzincan in the north, Pülümür and the central district in the east, Hozat in the south, Erzincan province and Çemişgezek district in the west. The plain, which is surrounded by the Munzur Range Mountains to the north and south, is divided into two by the Munzur Water. Its altitude is 1,300 m above sea level, and its highest point is Visit Hill, which is 3,071 m high. The most important river is Munzur Stream. There are many natural lakes at the summit of the Munzur Mountains. Transportation to the district is provided via the highway, which continues along the Munzur River and is full of natural views within the Munzur Valley National Park.