The administrative seat of the kaza, Mazgirt town, has a number of interesting buildings, such as an abandoned castle, an old Mosque,
and an Armenian church, the restoration of which was promised in
Yerevan by the president of the Federation of Dersim Non-Governmental Organizations in 2015.[1]
In 2018, the mayor of Mazgirt, Tekin Türkel, advocated for the decaying Armenian church of Gölbağin to be restored and used again for worship; he also justified this, as is currently common in Turkey, with the benefit for tourism: “(…) We built our cemevi here with the contributions of the municipality, institutions and citizens, but there is something left in my heart, that we could not do anything for our Armenian citizens. As a socialist and administrator, this upsets me. Existing churches were destroyed. If the historical buildings here were not destroyed but kept alive and restored, the population of Mazgirt would increase, faith tourism would develop, and our Armenian citizens would have fulfilled their worship.” [2]
Toponym
The Armenian placename Medzkert (Western Armenian pronunciation: Medzgerd) means “great fortress” and probably refers to an Urartian fortress. It was destroyed in 837 by the Byzantine emperor Theophilos during his battle for Mesopotamia, together with other fortresses.
Population
According to the statistics of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, there lived 1,835 Armenians in 9 localities of the kaza Mazgirt, maintaining 14 churches, 22 monasteries and two schools for 155 children[3]; however, the majority of Mazgirt’s Armenians – 1,200 – lived in the kaza Hozat.
Armenian Settlements in the kaza Mazgirt
Medzkert (administrative seat), Ahriman, Bekdash, Germisi, Damtagh (Darmudagh, Tyumirak), Danaburun (Tanaberan), Dialnoglu (Tiranoglu), Esirek, Tirmushek, Lazvan, Lamk’, Khozingyugh, Tsilk (Chilk), Kzlkala, Hags (Hak’iz, Ek’iz), Havukpakh, Mamegi (Mamik), Masdan, Markho, Shordan, Chukhur, Seghank’, Sndam, Pakh (Dersimi Pakh, Pah).(4)