Elazig Attractions

Eastern Anatolia (eastern Taurus)

Elazig (Elâzig) is situated at the foot of the 1,724m/5,658ft Kartal Tepesi on the northern edge of the Uluova basin. In addition to being a sizable industrial center it is a busy market town, serving a large rural area. It has a university, founded in 1966. Much the most important development of recent years however has been the Keban Dam project on the Euphrates, from which the town has benefited enormously.

History

By Turkish standards Elazig is still something of a new town. Its story really begins in 1834 when the Ottoman governor Resid Mehmet Pasa moved his residence from the old hilltop stronghold of Harput to Mazra'a, a village a few miles away on the plain. Faced by rebellious Kurds and the insurgent Mehmet Ali, the Ottoman army then established a headquarters in Mazra'a (the German military adviser H. von Moltke spent some time there in about 1838). In 1862 the Ottoman Sultan Abdul el-Aziz transformed the village into a town, renaming it Mamuret el-Aziz (settlement of el-Aziz) of which Elazig is a later corruption. Mazra'a was probably the site of ancient Mazara.