ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A traditional Kurdish wedding has been held for the first time in over three decades in a village in east Turkey once emptied due to conflict. Locals say the celebration marks a powerful act of cultural revival.
The village of Takhte Mircane, located in the Pulumur region of Turkey’s eastern Dersim (Tunceli) province, was evacuated in 1994 amid the ongoing conflict between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish state.
The decades-long war has claimed more than 40,000 lives - mostly PKK fighters - and displaced thousands of Kurdish families.
Now, 31 years later, and as peace efforts have gained momentum in recent months, villagers have begun returning to their ancestral lands.
The wedding - the first of its kind in Takhte Mircane since the evacuation - brought back long-silenced traditions. The celebration featured Kurdish drums and zurna music, Kirmanji songs, and the bride arriving on horseback.
Speaking to Rudaw, Yilmaz Celik, an artist from the region stated, "This is what we hope for - to keep our traditions alive. I'm very happy someone took the initiative [to hold a Kurdish wedding]."
The groom’s family wore traditional Kurdish clothing, emphasizing the cultural weight of the event. His parents said the forced displacement had dealt a severe blow to Kurdish identity and communal life.
“Since our villages were evacuated in 1994, no one has held weddings in the traditional way,” said the groom’s father, Ibrahim Yalvac. “Now we've returned to our land, and to keep our traditions alive, we organized this [celebration].”
For her part, Filiz Yalvac, the groom’s mother, urged younger generations to protect their cultural and linguistic heritage. “All I ask is that, for the sake of these sacred lands, speak the language of Khizr, teach it to your children, and celebrate your weddings and gatherings in this language and with your culture,” she said.
For many in Takhte Mircane, the wedding was more than a personal milestone. It was an act of cultural reclamation - a way to revive language, memory, and identity, and to pass them on to future generations.
