Tercan

Tercan (formerly Mama Hatun, and Derzene in the Byzantine era, Kurdish: Têrcan‎[3]) is a town and district of Erzincan Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The district covers an area of 1,592 km2 (615 sq mi) and its total population is 20,072 of which 6,646 live in the town of Tercan.

Tercan
The Saltukid caravanserai built in the 12th century.
Tercan
Coordinates: 39°46′46″N 40°23′03″E
CountryTurkey
ProvinceErzincan
Government
 • MayorMehmet Yılmaz (MHP)
 • KaymakamTurgay Hakan Bilgin
Area
 • District1,545.54 km2 (596.74 sq mi)
Elevation
1,425 m (4,675 ft)
Population
 (2012)[2]
 • Urban
7,203
 • District
18,613
 • District density12/km2 (31/sq mi)
Post code
2553x
Websitewww.tercan.bel.tr

The town is especially notable for the 12th century complex of buildings built by the Saltukid female ruler Melike Mama Hatun, which comprises her tomb, a mosque, a hammam and an impressive caravanserai which was heavily restored in recent years.

The 17th century Ottoman traveller Evliya Celebi visited the place in 1647, calling it Mamahatun. He wrote about the Saltukid complex and described the town as "a Muslim village containing two hundred houses".[4] The town has a large Kurdish population that is mostly Alevi as well as a significant Turkish population that is Sunni.

  • Tomb of Melike Mama Hatun .
  • Entrance portal to the tomb complex.
  • Arches inside the tomb complex.

Sights
  • Mama Hatun complex, tomb, caravanserai, mosque and hammam
  • Kötür bridge
  • Pekeriç fortress
  • Abrenk (Vank) church
  • Kefrenci temple

See also

References
  1. "Area of regions (including lakes), km²". Regional Statistics Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. 2002. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  2. "Population of province/district centers and towns/villages by districts - 2012". Address Based Population Registration System (ABPRS) Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  3. Adem Avcıkıran (2009). Kürtçe Anamnez Anamneza bi Kurmancî (PDF) (in Turkish and Kurdish). p. 56. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  4. Efendi, Evliya; Hammer (Translator), Joseph (1850). Narrative of Travels, Europe, Asia and Africa. London. p. 199.


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