Elazığ

Elazığ is a city of 387,072 people in the mountains of Eastern Anatolia at 1,067 m altitude. Although the railway and main eastern highway pass through, it's almost an island, surrounded by huge modern reservoir lakes. The ancient fortress and hilltop town of Harput offers historic exploration, while Lake Hazar provides nature activities.

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 was renamed Mamuret-ül-Aziz in the 19th century, which morphed into Elaziz then Elazığ. This became a barracks town and military base, outgrowing Harput. There were massacres of Armenians in the 1890s, then systematic genocide in 1915. Harput was abandoned for 40 years until re-occupied and prettified from the 1950s.

Elazığ Airport (IATA: EZS) is 10 km south of town on D885. It has daily flights from Istanbul (IST and SAW) and from Ankara (ESB). The single terminal is small but clean with usual facilities including car hire. Take a taxi to town; the Havaş bus no longer runs. Elazığ also has a railway station (Elazığ Garı) and a bus terminal (Yeni Otobüs Terminali).

Frequent dolmuşes run between the town centre and Harput. The historic Harput district sits on a hilltop outcrop, about 7 km southwest of modern Elazığ.

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

Half-a-dozen small stores are in the town centre, typically open daily 09:00-22:00.

Eskibağlar is a winery 35 km south of Elazığ overlooking Lake Hazar. It produces red wine from local Öküzgözü and Boğazkere grape cultivars and offers accommodation on site.

Accommodation options in Elazığ include Gunay Hotel on Nalbant Sk 17 at the corner with Hürriyet Cd (B&B double 1500 TL), Hotel Grand 23 on Hürriyet Cd 64 (200 m east of Gunay), Doubletree by Hilton on Vali Fahri Bey Cd 37 (B&B double 2500 TL), Marathon Hotel on Istasyon Cd 17 (B&B double 2500 TL) with spa and fitness centre, and Dedeman Park on Atatürk Blv 41 (B&B double 2000 TL) on the highway.

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

From Elazığ, onward destinations include Keban (47 km northwest) by the barrage dam that created Lake Keban, Kemaliye (145 km northwest) a fine old town with adventure sports in its Dark Canyon, Ergani (100 km south) a large town with archaeological sites, Malatya (100 km west) modern but with old Battalgazi nearby, and Tunceli (80 km north via ferry) for rafting and mountain trekking. Major routes: D300 west to Kayseri via Malatya, east to Van via Bingöl; D260 west to Ankara via Divriği; D885 north to Trabzon via Tunceli, south to Şanlıurfa via Ergani.