Elazığ (pronounced ay-LAH-zuh) is a city in the mountains of Eastern Anatolia, at an altitude of 1067 m and with a population of 387,072 in 2022. Although the railway and main eastern highway pass through, it's almost an island, as huge modern reservoir lakes surround it.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
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.
1 Rüstempaşa Mosque on Billur Sk is 20th century, built in Ottoman style. 2 Elazığ Science Centre (Elazığ Bilim Merkezi), Cahit Dalokay Blv, ☏ +90 424 218 7029. Mon-Fri 08:00-17:00. Museum of natural history and other sciences. (updated Feb 2024) 3 Harput 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. 4 Lake Hazar is reached 31 km southeast of Elazığ, at its main village of Sivrice.
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.
Town centre places include Bos, Amcanın Yeri, Saray and Samanlar. Harput has Antik Han Cafe, Ensar and Çara.
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.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
In Nov, Elazig typically sees ~15°C daytime highs and 5 rainy days.
Cheapest destinations travellers searched recently — refreshed daily.
Flight prices are real fares travellers found in the last 48 hours, refreshed daily — the booking site confirms the final price. Train, bus and ferry fares are shown on the operators' booking sites. Weather data by Open-Meteo; exchange rates: ECB reference. Data updated 2026-11-05. Some links earn Stayonomy a commission at no cost to you.
stayonomy