There was more song before sunrise and it sounded devotional. However, it was at 6.30am instead of 4.00am and the chanting had a different quality to it. I was going to miss Tunceli, of this there was no doubt.
I consumed my breakfast, packed the last few things into my bags, settled the hotel bill and walked the 30 or so metres to where the minibuses left for Pertek. I caught the 8.00am service with five minutes to spare. There were only four passengers aboard when we left from the Cagdas bus company office, but by the time we were among Tunceli’s most distant southerly suburbs, only five seats were free.
The hotel’s breakfast room, Tunceli.
As we made our way toward the entrance to the university campus, I reflected for the last time about Tunceli’s population. Taken collectively, the town had the most secular-minded population I had encountered so far, and would encounter for the remaining few days of the trip. People with a faith commitment seemed to express it in a pragmatic, tolerant and live-and-let-live manner, so much so that in 48 hours, I did not see a woman dressed from head to foot in black, or a woman who covered her face except for the eyes and the top of her nose, or a woman who walked two or three paces behind a male family member, who elsewhere on the trip was usually her husband. Women wearing headscarves constituted 15% of the female population at the most. Women drove cars, engaged directly in the local economy and earned a living in many town centre offices and businesses in the more affluent suburbs. Tunceli did not have any buildings of architectural importance, but its situation beside the Munzur Cayi, the surrounding hills and mountains, the liberal outlook of its citizens and the many interesting destinations in the region made it for me one of Turkey’s most appealing provincial capitals. Moreover, with Erzincan and Elazig not far away, people deprived of walks on the Sunni side of the street had only a short distance to travel.
The cloud of the evening and night before had completely disappeared. Bright sunshine, a few puffs of white cloud and a gentle breeze made everything look enchanting once we were beyond the entrance to the university campus. A road to the right had a sign beside it indicating that Rabat Kale lay 20 kilometres away. Someone the day before had said that Rabat Kale was an interesting destination and that the full extent of its interest had yet to be established (Rabat Kale was said to have Urartian and Hellenistic connections, among others). Was this further confirmation that a return to the area was required? Most definitely.
The minibus left the main road to Elazig because, although destined for this large city in which I had stayed a few days earlier, it was going via the town of Pertek to connect with the ferry that crossed the Keban Reservoir, thereby usually saving some time because of the much shorter distance.
Pertek was 36 kilometres from the road junction and, with a few twists and turns as we made an ascent, we were soon among hills, stunted trees, wild flowers, beehives and pasture feeding cattle, sheep and goats. As we enjoyed a last view of the Munzur Cayi, now part of the Keban Reservoir which was so large it was encountered along many roads, we arrived in the dispersed village of Yolkonak where the houses, most of which were modern, had extensive views south and east. Each house seemed to have a large garden with many trees. Beydami, the next settlement along the road, stood in undulating countryside surrounded by rounded hills. Beydami marked the point where the road began to cross an upland plain with fields and orchards. We began to descend after passing a quarry, but hills and mountains still dominated the distant views. We were about 13 kilometres from Pertek and, ahead, the Keban Reservoir came into view again, this time to the south-west instead of the east. I detected in the grass and fields a hint of paleness that suggested conditions were a little drier and hotter than in and immediately around Tunceli, despite the town being so close. In what was probably Mercimek, a village about 3 kilometres from the centre of Pertek, there were some large timber-framed and mudbrick houses with flat roofs that would be worth examining more closely, but I sensed that other delights lay ahead without undertaking what might be a time-consuming detour.
Termal Hotel, Pertek.
Termal Hotel, Pertek.
Termal Hotel, Pertek.
I unwisely got off the minibus in Pertek, which looked overwhelmingly modern on first inspection. The only hotel locally was the Termal about 5 or 6 kilometres outside the town not far from where the ferry arrived and departed. Very kindly, an off-duty police officer directed me to his car and drove me to the hotel, a large modern one with a swimming pool and sauna utilising a local source of naturally hot water. The hot water provided guests or visitors for the day with an opportunity to engage in recreation or access unproven cures for ill-health. I did not usually stay in a Turkish hotel with such facilities charging guests a lot by local standards, but the immediate area lacked accommodation alternatives; its situation beside the reservoir was a delight; the surrounding area promised many pleasant surprises to add to the ones already acquired in Dersim (everywhere I visited for the next two days was in Dersim); the ferry terminal was nearby so I could access to my next destination with ease; and I was asked to pay only 100TL (about £27) for a night in a double room similar in size to a hotel room in the USA. The room came with en suite facilities and breakfast. I immediately agreed to stay two nights and enjoyed every moment of the self-indulgence.
Because the Keban Reservoir had drowned old Pertek, all that remained of the town where it originally stood was the castle, which crowned what was now an island in the reservoir. The hotel and its extensive grounds provided excellent views of the island and castle. Moreover, I witnessed attractive sunsets both evenings at the hotel. Was everyone a winner at the Termel Hotel near the modern town of Pertek? You bet, provided you could afford to stay there.
Termal Hotel, Pertek.
Pertek Kale.
Pertek Kale.
Among Armenian Ruins 