In Pictures: Once A Troubled District, Turkey’s Cukurca Is Changing
The district governor has launched agricultural, tourist and sports-related initiatives in an attempt to revive the area after multiple attacks by the PKK.
District Governor Temel Ayca has began restoring Cukurca’s ‘castle houses’, located in the foothills of one of the town’s towering mountains. The houses are slated to be turned into boutique hotels, restaurants and cafes. (Credit: Haci Emre Polat / TRTWorld)
In 18 months, Cukurca, a border district in Hakkari province where the Turkish army suffered the highest number of casualties from PKK attacks, has become a different place, with its paved roads and up-and-coming social scene. And it is thanks to its district governor.
Below are photos exhibiting the enormous change the district has undergone since the end of 2017.
Since September 2017, the Cukurca district governorship has launched various social projects. The sewing course, which is being given at a restored social complex, is one of them. (Credit: Haci Emre Polat / TRTWorld) Since May 2018, Cukurca FM, which is broadcasting from the 91.1 frequency, has reached many people with its rich variety of music, including Kurdish songs. Mutlu Dervisoglu, who is a 29-year-old native of Cukurca, is one of the DJs at the radio station. (Credit: Haci Emre Polat / TRTWorld) District governor Temel Ayca poses with a student from a local school at a book cafe in Cukurca. He has established classroom libraries and book cafes across Cukurca’s schools. (Credit: Murat Sofuoglu / TRTWorld) Internal view of the sesame mill in Cukurca, Hakkari on April 4, 2019. Temel Ayca, Cukurca’s district governor, has restored the 400-year old mill, reactivating it for tahini production as part of his Zap agricultural project. (Credit: Haci Emre Polat / TRTWorld) Cukurca’s rafting team in front of the Zap River. Emir Cakir, the team’s 18-year-old captain (second right), who is from Cukurca, thinks that they will come first in the world rafting championship, which will be held in Turkey’s Tunceli province in June 2019. (Credit: Haci Emre Polat / TRTWorld) The district governor’s agricultural project, called Zap, was named after the region’s famous river. Products are available online and through other channels across Turkey. From left: Rukiye Turan, 33, and Zilan Turan, 24, who pack and sell Zap’s products in municipality-run shops in Cukurca. (Credit: Haci Emre Polat / TRTWorld)
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