Munzur (Mercan) Mountains
Munzur Mountains, also known as Mercan Mountains are located in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. Mount Munzur is an extension of the Eastern Anatolian Taurus Mountain Range. The mountain is one of the mountains in Turkey with an altitude of 3000 meters. It is also one of the oldest by the year of formation. For this reason, the mountain contains glacial lakes, various endemic plant and animal species, as well as natural formations such as many streams, forests, streams, and plateaus. Click to see Munzur (Mercan) Mountains Photos on Google Photos.
Where is Munzur Mercan Mountains?
Munzur Mountains are located in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. It is located especially in the upper parts of the Euphrates River in the region. Click to see Munzur (Mercan) Mountains on Google Map.
In which province is Munzur?
Munzur (Mercan) Mountains are located between the cities of Tunceli and Erzincan in Turkey. It is located on a 130 km long plateau between two cities.
How to go to Munzur Mercan?
You can choose the airline or the road to go to Mount Munzur.
Those who want to choose the airline can choose Elazig Airport, which is the closest airport to the mountain. Then you can come to the mountain area by taxi or by renting a car. The distance between the mountain and the airport is approximately 12 km.
Visitors who want to prefer the highway can come to Tunceli or Elazig by renting a car, by their own car or by bus. Tunceli may be an easier choice for guests arriving by road. The distance between Tunceli bus station and the mountain is about half an hour by car.
There is a national park belonging to Munzur (Mercan) Mountains. Visitors who want to come to the mountain can reach the mountain more easily if they set their route on the national park.
How High Is Mount Munzur?
Munzur Mountains are one of the high altitude mountains in Turkey. When classified, it is in the group above 3000 meters altitude. The height of the mountain is 3463 meters. The peak point is called “Akbaba Hill”.
Munzur Mercan Mountains Mountaineering
The mountain is one of the challenging mountains with high altitude preferred for mountaineering. The mountain has a barrier terrain. For this reason, transportation over the land is limited. Those who want to climb the mountain should be ready for a long and challenging journey. To reach the Akbaba Peak, which is the pinnacle of Mount Munzur, it is necessary to follow the Mercan Creek. Climbing can be a bit of a challenge. Therefore, mountaineers can choose climbing routes by choosing optional techniques according to them.
The best time to climb the mountain is between 15 June and 30 August. Also, when climbing the mountain, it is useful to be prepared considering the length of the process. The presence of small lakes on the mountain provides convenience for mountaineers in terms of water.
Where Does Munzur Name Come From?
The character of “Shepherd Munzur” in the Munzur legend is legendary as that a shepherd can have miracles as well as wealthy and influential people, and that he can be a pure-hearted, faithful person who can be a victim of God’s love. For this reason, the local people gave the mountain the name of Munzur, which they believed brought miracles to the mountain, with this belief.
The Legend of Munzur Mercan Mountains
Legend has it that once upon a time there was a sainted man who had a daughter. The saint’s daughter died one day. The saintly man dreamed of his daughter several days in a row. The man’s daughter said, “Dad, open my grave. I have a trust, take it.” she said. The man told people about his dream. Upon this, he decided to have his daughter’s grave opened. Inside the girl’s coffin was a child in a cradle-like thing. The man took the boy from there. The saint saw the girl again in his dream. The daughter, in her dream, said to her father, “Name the child ‘Munzur’.” said.
Years passed and Munzur was seven years old. Later, he started to shepherd the sheep of a rich man living in the Koyungöl region of Tunceli’s Ovacık District. The rich man Munzur worked with went on a pilgrimage because it was time for the pilgrimage. One day when the rich man was on pilgrimage, Munzur came to the man’s wife and said;
-My lady, your wife wants hot halvah. He says if you make the halva, I will take it to him.
The rich man’s wife is surprised at first, then she thinks that the poor shepherd wants to eat halva, he is ashamed to say it directly, he is making such an excuse. The woman cooked a halva for Munzur and put it in a bundle and gave it to Munzur. Then, “Take it, my son.” said. At that time, the rich man was praying on the pilgrimage. During the prayer, he also saw that Munzur was standing on his right side with a bundle in his hand.
The man finished his prayer and said to Munzur, “Welcome, my son, what are you doing here? What is that in your hand?” said. Munzur said, “You wanted hot halva, I brought it to you.” he said and handed the bundle to the man. The man opened the package and looked and there was warm halva in it. The man turned his head to say something to Munzur in astonishment, but Munzur was not with him.
When the man completed his pilgrimage and returned to his village, all of his neighbors went to greet the man with a gift in their hands. Since he had no other gift to take to the man in Munzur, he milked some milk from his sheep in a bowl. Then Munzur went to meet the man with milk. When the man saw Munzur, he said to the people next to him, “The real pilgrim is Munzur. If there is a hand to kiss, it is Munzur’s hand.
He said I will kiss first and ran towards Munzur. When Munzur heard these conversations, he said, “Oh my lord, for God’s sake. There is no such thing. I grew up on your bread and your excess for years.
How can you kiss my hand? I won’t let you kiss my hand, he said and started to run away. Munzur is in front, the man and his followers started a chase behind him. When they came to the first place where the current Munzur river came out, the bowl full of milk in Munzur’s hand spilled out and a white water gushed like milk in the place where the milk was spilled.
Munzur took another forty steps. A river was formed from these gushing waters. Those who ran after Munzur could not get beyond this river. They could not find Munzur again in these mountains. The name of the mountain remained as Munzur.
Munzur Mountains Folk Song
Munzur Mercan Mountains are a mountain known for its majesty loved by the local people. For this reason, many folk songs have been written in his name. The most famous of these is the Munzur Türküsü, which belongs to the Kemaliye region of Erzincan.
You may also want to learn about Turkey’s highest mountain, Mount Ararat. Please click on the link to read more about majestic Mount Ararat.
