Elazığ

Last update October 2, 2026

Elazığ is located in eastern Anatolia and is a modern city which grew up in a valley seven kilometres from its true attraction: Harput, an ancient town that has been home to inhabitants since 10,000 BC. There are frequent dolmuşes that go between the two places, and it is in Harput that you should spend your time. You should walk around Harput Castle, go into the Virgin Mary Church, one of the oldest churches still in use in Anatolia, and visit the Ulu Mosque close by. You can then relax in the garden of the Kurşunlu Mosque beneath its old plane trees before going to the observation deck for a panoramic view of Harput and finishing off with a cup of local çedene coffee.

Lake Hazar forms the second part of a trip to Elazığ, lying between 26 and 31 kilometres to the southeast of the city near the village of Sivrice. You can take a boat tour to see the Sunken City under the water, swim or engage in water sports in the summer, or simply walk along the shoreline in spring when the restaurants along the lake are less busy and the atmosphere gives the impression that the place is all yours. Hazarbaba Mountain is located on the southern side of the lake and has a ski resort if you are there in winter; there is also a winery named Eskibağlar about 35 kilometres from the city which commands a view of the lake.

The food offered here is not limited to kebab; you should try Harput köfte, kofik stuff, and trout taken directly from either the Keban Dam or the Çırçır Waterfall, as well as Ağın leblebi, a roasted chickpea prepared in a village outside the city by a method which has remained unchanged for centuries. You can then purchase all of it at the Grand Bazaar and the Coppersmith’s Bazaar, where you will also find copper kitchenware and the area’s characteristic eight-sided hat.

If you have an extra day, go to Palu and cross the historic bridge spanning the Murat River while viewing the Urartian inscription cut into the rock close to Palu Castle, or visit the Black Stork Canyon for a boat trip past some caves in which one of the world’s rarest storks still nests. Elazığ doesn’t appear on most standard Turkey itineraries, and that is precisely what makes it so attractive: genuine history, real lake towns, and very few of the crowds you’d encounter further west.