“Little Plain” Population: 3,200
At the end of the lovely hour-long drive through the spectacular Munzur Gorge from Tunceli/Dersim the mountains suddenly open up to reveal Ovacık, a small, rather ramshackle, largely Alevi settlement surrounded by fields where locals raise cows and goats and tend their beehives.
Alas, it’s not a beautiful place and the modernity turns out to conceal a sad story. In the early 1990s during the worst of the struggle with the PKK the army drove many villagers out of their homes, forcing them to relocate to this more readily observable location. On the southern outskirts a few remaining prefab “houses” suggest the grim circumstances in which they found themselves. Nearby, low-rise blocks of state housing suggest the first step up from those prefabs. The centre, however, is like everywhere else – a mess of colourful but mismatched high-rises, shops and cafes.
On the southern outskirts a cemevi was being built when I visited in October 2013. Another a little way out of Ovacık on the road to Munzur Gözeleri has been serving some of the villages since 2011.
But the real reason why most people come to Ovacık is to continue north for a few more km in search of the source of the Munzur river at Munzur Gözeleri, a place that is sacred to the Alevis who come here to make sacrifices and light candles at a rock sanctuary.. The best time to come is spring when the surrounding waterfalls will be in full flow although it’s a pleasant spot at most times of year, with lots of places for picnicking – crowd-averse types should probably avoid summer weekend visits. 
A local fable relates how a shepherd boy named Munzur was working for a man who had gone on pilgrimage to Mecca. Fearing that his master would miss his favourite dessert, Munzur asked his wife to make it anyway and then magically conveyed it to Mecca. On his return Munzur went to meet his master with crowds of others. His master said that Munzur was the one whose hand should be kissed, a prospect that frightened the boy so much that he fled to the mountains, spilling milk as he ran. Where the milk splashed to the ground, springs rose up to form the source of the Munzur (this is a story also told with only small changes of detail about St John the Russian of Ürgüp).
Farm at Aşağıtorunoba, near Ovacık
The surrounding area falls within the Munzur Valley National Park, the largest of Turkey’s national parks. Since 2015 there has been a small ski resort (kayak merkezi) with a hotel here (Tel: 0428-502 7828).
From 2014 to 2019 Ovacık was the only place in Turkey to have a Communist mayor which says much about local politics.
Sleeping
As well as the ski resort, there’s a camp site on the southern outskirts of Ovacık.
Doğa Turistik Hotel. Tel: 0428 511 2888
Transport info
Timetabled minibuses link Tunceli/Dersim and Ovacık. They stop in the village but the driver may be prepared to provide a “taxi” service on to Munzur Gözeleri for a fixed return fee.
Nearby areas
