The Urartian caves in Çemişgezek district of Tunceli, apart from what is officially known, are kept alive in public memory as oral history with unofficial information.
The Urartian caves in Çemişgezek district of Tunceli, apart from what is officially known, are kept alive in public memory as oral history with unofficial information.
The historical caves, which are called Dervish Cells in official records and Den Holes by the local people, increase their magnificence with the rumors told from mouth to mouth in the public memory. There are around 20 rooms carved into the rock for residential purposes in the Tağar Stream Valley, west of the Çemişgezek district center. The caves, which are known to belong to the Urartian period, consist of three-storey rooms and long corridors with large windows illuminating these rooms.
“It is said that the Tağar Stream passes in front of İnholes”
Explaining the Dervish Cells, Researcher Writer Kağan Gökalp gave information about the historical caves. Gökalp, who is also from Çemişgezezek, said, “There is historical information about the Den Holes, that is, the Dervish Cells. In addition, there is information that has survived to the present day through the oral culture tradition in the public memory. I would like to tell you about them in order not to be lost. As it is known in the official records, the Den Holes are historical buildings built during the Urartian period. However, it is said that in the very old times of history, the Tağar Stream passed at a higher elevation in front of the İnholes, that is, the valley bed passed in front of the İnholes. Of course, since this is a collapsed area, with the erosion of water and geological events, the level of the Tağar Stream has now fallen below the level of the In Holes. This is a narrative that remains alive in the public memory. There are rock tombs in the Kale District of our district. “It is known that the rate is also related to the Den Holes,” he said.
Giving information about the purpose of using the caves, Gökalp continued his speech as follows:
“The Chief of General Staff of the period, Fevzi Çakmak Pasha, also visited our Çemişgezek district during his visit to Tunceli. During this visit, based on the information and ideas he acquired from historical records or oral culture, he learned that there was a passage from Kale District to İn Holleri, under the Tağar Valley. It is said that he wanted to investigate and find it. It is said that Fevzi Çakmak Pasha personally participated in the efforts to find this passage in the area where there are rocks known as Nergizkaya, known as rock tombs, in the Kale District of our district. Let this remain in the minds of the people as an information note that we heard from our elders and grandfathers. In fact, it is said that the place known as the Black Cave is a place where military pioneer groups wait, as a military forward surveillance point. In other words, the Assyrians are known in history as a warrior society. This is how it is recorded in the records. During the capture of the Çemişgezek region, the Urartians showed a strong resistance against the Assyrians and could not capture the Den Holes. Finally, they carried out the activity of capturing the Den Holes by releasing the archers into the Den Holes in baskets from the flat land on the rock where the Den Holes, which we call Mırnahi, are located. I heard this from our late teacher Erhan Saraçoğlu. “He told us what he heard from the elders and elders in this way.”
