Divrigi Tourist Attractions

Northwest eastern AnatoliaSituation and ImportanceThis district town in the valley of the Çalti Çayi, a western tributary of the upper Euphrates (Firat Nehri), is the center of a major iron ore extracting region. The high iron content (50-65%) of the deposits found locally in the mountains makes them the richest in the Near East. The ore is taken to steelworks in Karabük, Eregli, Yarimca, Samsum and Elazig for smelting. Though situated in the midst of an infertile mountain landscape Divrigi enjoys a favorable climate, with mild winters and rainfall enough to produce lush vegetation. The Old Town below the citadel has some south Pontic Old Ottoman timber frame and mud houses, with simple but very attractive wood carvings and reliefs.HistoryIn the ninth century Divrigi (or Tephrike as it then was) became a stronghold of the Paulicians, a Christian sect who, fleeing from Byzantine persecution, sought refuge under the protection of the Abbasid emirs of Malatya. The sect first made its appearance in the mid-seventh century, militant nonconformists venerating the teachings of St Paul while at the same time rejecting the Eucharist and the symbolism of the Cross. In 872 the Byzantines finally occupied the town and the Paulician leader was murdered. After 1071 the area around Tephrike fell into the hands of the Mengüçoglu dynasty, who remained in control until 1252. The Mongols dismembered the fortifications and plundered the town. In 1516 Divrigi was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire; for a time, ruled by local Kurdish princes, it regained its importance as a regional center. From the 19th century onwards the Old Town which Ahmet Süleiman Mengüçoglu had founded below the citadel was increasingly abandoned in favor of a new settlement a little further west (now the center of the present town).