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Elazığ

File:Elazığ_City_Center.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ174060· pop 82· linked from 677 articles

Also known as Elazığ City, Harput, Mamuretülaziz, Elaziz

Elazığ () is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, and the administrative centre of Elazığ Province and Elazığ District. Founded in and around the former city of Harput, it is located in the uppermost Euphrates valley. The plain on which the city extends has an altitude of . Elazığ resembles an inland peninsula surrounded by the natural Lake Hazar and reservoirs of Keban Dam, Karakaya Dam, Kıralkızı and Özlüce. Its population is 387,072 (2022).

AI overview

Elazığ is a city in eastern Turkey that serves as the administrative center for Elazığ Province, built on the site of the former city of Harput in the upper Euphrates valley. With a population of about 387,000, the city is geographically notable for being surrounded by natural and man-made water bodies, including Lake Hazar and several large dams.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

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Place details

Locality
Elâzığ Merkez
Region
Elazığ
Country
Türkiye
Population
443,363
Timezone
Europe/Istanbul

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Air quality

46US AQIGood
PM2.5
8.6 µg/m³
PM10
11.3 µg/m³
As of 2026-08-11 03:00 · Open-Meteo

Key facts

Turkey place.type
municipality
Turkey place.name
Elazığ
Turkey place.image_skyline
Elazığ City Center.jpg
Turkey place.image_caption
A view of the city centre
Turkey place.province
Elazığ
Turkey place.district
Elazığ
Turkey place.leader_party
AKP
Turkey place.leader_name
Şahin Şerifoğulları
Turkey place.elevation_m
1067
Turkey place.population_total
387072
Turkey place.population_as_of
2022
Turkey place.postal_code
23000
Turkey place.area_code
0424

via Wikipedia infobox

Official website

Elazığ Belediyesi

Elazığ Belediyesi'ne ait kurumsal bilgilerin, güncel haber, duyuru, galeri, video, proje, çalışmalar ve etkinliklerin yer aldığı kurumsal web sitesi.

elazig.bel.tr

Link to the official site · 23,520 chars · not written by Vinony

Travel guide

Understand

The ancient fortress and hilltop town of Harput was part of the Kingdom of Urartu, and had a majority Armenian population until the 20th century. The smaller settlement of Mezre developed in the valley, and in the 19th century was renamed Mamuret-ül-Aziz, which morphed into Elaziz then Elazığ. This became a barracks town and military base, outgrowing Harput. There were massacres of the Armenians in the 1890s, then systematic genocide in 1915. Harput was abandoned for 40 years, until re-occupied and prettified from the 1950s.

Get around

thumb | 300px | Harput Castle Frequent dolmuşes run between town centre and Harput.

See

on Billur Sk is 20th century, built in Ottoman style. was an ancient Armenian town, abandoned after the genocide of 1915, while the present town of Elazığ developed in the valley 7 km southwest. It was partly restored from the 1950s. Harput Castle sits on an outcrop and is free to enter M-F 08:00-19:00, Sa Su 08:00-17:30. is reached 31 km southeast of Elazığ, at its main village of Sivrice. It stretches 22 km east to the smaller village of Gezin, with picnic and recreation areas along its banks, though the beaches are rocky. It's the source of the mighty River Tigris, and is freshwater and deep, max 213 m, as it's a rift-valley lake. An ancient city lies beneath its waters.

Do

Football: Elazığspor play soccer in TFF 3rd League, Turkey's fourth tier. Their home ground Atatürk Stadium (capacity 18,400) was rebuilt 2019-23; it's 2 km west of town centre. Elazığ Kültürpark is a large recreation area 2 km west of town centre towards the football stadium. Skiing: Hazarbaba is a ski resort on the mountain rising south of Sivrice on Lake Hazar.

Buy

thumb | 300px | Kültür Park Half-a-dozen small stores are in town centre, typically open daily 09:00-22:00.

Eat

Town centre places include Bos, Amcanın Yeri, Saray and Samanlar. Harput has Antik Han Cafe, Ensar and Çara.

Drink

Eskibağlar is a pretty winery 35 km south of Elazığ, overlooking Lake Hazar. It produces red out of the local Öküzgözü and Boğazkere cultivars, and offers accommodation on site.

Sleep

thumb | 300px | Lake Hazar Turistik Otel is east side of Gunay Hotel on Hürriyet Cd.

Connect

Elazığ and its approach highways have 4G from all Turkish carriers. As of Feb 2024, 5G has not rolled out in Turkey.

Go next

Keban 47 km northwest is by the barrage dam that created Lake Keban. Kemaliye 145 km northwest is a fine old town, with adventure sports in its "Dark Canyon". Ergani 100 km south is a large town with archaeological sites. Malatya 100 km west is modern, but on its doorstep is the old town of Battalgazi. Tunceli 80 km north via a ferry has rafting and mountain trekking.

Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)

~17 min read

Encyclopedic overview

25 sections
Contents
  • Name
  • Mezre
  • Harput
  • Elazığ
  • History
  • Ottoman Harput and Mamûretü'l-Azîz
  • Turkish Republican era
  • Ecclesiastical history
  • Demographics
  • Economy
  • Geography
  • Subdivisions
  • Climate
  • Cuisine
  • Transport
  • Education
  • Attractions
  • Twin towns – sister cities
  • Gallery
  • Notable people
  • Mayors of Elazığ
  • References
  • Sources
  • Further reading
  • External links

Elazığ () is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, and the administrative centre of Elazığ Province and Elazığ District. Founded in and around the former city of Harput, it is located in the uppermost Euphrates valley. The plain on which the city extends has an altitude of . Elazığ resembles an inland peninsula surrounded by the natural Lake Hazar and reservoirs of Keban Dam, Karakaya Dam, Kıralkızı and Özlüce. Its population is 387,072 (2022).

==Name== === Mezre === Elazığ was once a suburb of the ancient fortress town of Harput called . Heinrich Hübschmann believed Mezre to be the settlement of Mazara () mentioned by Ptolemy, while Nicholas Adontz derived the name from an Arabic word meaning arable land or hamlet (borrowed into Turkish as 'hamlet'). The toponym originated as a shortening of ('hamlet of the aghas/landlords') or ('Çötelizade [a family name] hamlet'). This may be explained by the fact that some notables from Harput had been exiled from the city and settled in nearby villages in the late 18th century.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Elazığ” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (19)

On the map

2 mapped locations