Tunceli Province - Definition and Overview

Tunceli is a province in eastern Turkey. The province was previously named Dersim, and some still call the region by this name. Its adjacent provinces are Erzincan to the north and west, Elazig to the south, and Bingol to the east. Tunceli is the only Turkish province with an Alevi majority.

The name Tunceli literally means Land of Bronze, (in Turkish: Tunç is bronze and el is place).

In 1935, Tunceli Province was established with its temporary center in Elazığ. At the time, Pülümür, Erzincan, Nazimiye, Hozat, Petek, Ovacık, Mazgirt and Çemişkezek townships in Elazığ formed Tunceli Province. Tunceli was administered from its temporary center, Elazığ, until 1946 and in 1947 the provincial center was moved to the town of Kalan.

Turceli is known for its old buildings and its banditry. Ninety-eight percent of Tunceli's population has at least primary school education, leading to one of the highest rates of literacy for the provinces.

	Provinces of Turkey
Adana \| Adıyaman \| Afyonkarahisar \| Ağrı \| Amasya \| Ankara \| Antalya \| Artvin \| Aydın \| Balıkesir \| Bilecik \| Bingöl \| Bitlis \| Bolu \| Burdur \| Bursa \| Çanakkale \| Çankırı \| Çorum \| Denizli \| Diyarbakır \| Edirne \| Elazığ \| Erzincan \| Erzurum \| Eskişehir \| Gaziantep \| Giresun \| Gümüşhane \| Hakkari \| Hatay \| Isparta \| Mersin \| İstanbul \| İzmir \| Kars \| Kastamonu \| Kayseri \| Kırklareli \| Kırşehir \| Kocaeli \| Konya \| Kütahya \| Malatya \| Manisa \| Kahramanmaraş \| Mardin \| Muğla \| Muş \| Nevşehir \| Niğde \| Ordu \| Rize \| Sakarya \| Samsun \| Siirt \| Sinop \| Sivas \| Tekirdağ \| Tokat \| Trabzon \| Tunceli \| Şanlıurfa \| Uşak \| Van \| Yozgat \| Zonguldak \| Aksaray \| Bayburt \| Karaman \| Kırıkkale \| Batman \| Şırnak \| Bartın \| Ardahan \| Iğdır \| Yalova \| Karabük \| Kilis \| Osmaniye \| Düzce