see
Elazığ
Coppersmiths’ Bazaar, Wheat Warehouse, and Grand Bazaar
Serving service since 1928, Grand Bazaar (Kapalı Çarşı) provides dozens of different local products. The bazaar has a dynamism throughout the day. Kadayıf, which is used in making kadayıf dessert and künefe, is also produced and sold fresh in the shops here. The Grand Bazaar also includes the Butchers Bazaar (Kasaplar Çarşısı) where local animals are sold, the Wheat Warehouse where various grains and legumes can be found, and the Coppersmith Bazaar (Bakırcılar Çarşısı) where copper products and ornaments are produced, tinned and sold.
Former Government Office
The building, located in the center of Elazığ, was built in 1896. The mansion has features of late Ottoman architecture. The building, built of cut stone, has windows with round arches and decorated with stone ornaments. The building also has a different visual beauty with night lighting and iss now used as an additional service building for the Governorship of Elazığ.
Kazım Efendi Street
This street, which is prominent with restored examples of traditional Elazığ-Harput architecture houses, is in the center of Elazığ. These houses were built after the migration from Harput to the city center and named after the Harput religious scholar Musa Kazım Efendi, at the end of the 19th century, with a visual beauty of wood and stone workmanship.
Cultural Park
Cultural Park is a recreation area built on 180 acres of land with an artificial pond, mosque, sports complex, walking and jogging paths, bicycle paths, restaurants and cafes, viewing terrace, festival area, playgrounds, rose gardens, and amphitheater in the center of Elazığ.
Harput Castle (Milk Castle)
Built by the Urartians in the 8th century BCE, the castle is the oldest ruin of Harput survived up to the present day! The reason why Harput Castle (Harput Kalesi) is also called Milk Castle is the rumor that the milk obtained from the animals fed in the vicinity was used instead of water during the preparation of the mortar due to the drought during the construction of the castle. Located on a steep slope, Harput Castle has a fascinating view.
Historical Baths
There are three historical baths in Elazığ’s Harput District. Although these baths from the Ottoman period are not used today, they are very important in terms of witnessing the architectural features and culture of the period. Among these baths, the Cemşit (Cimşit) Bey Bath has undergone a restoration and hence all sections of the bath built in the 16th century can be seen. In addition, the ruins of Hoca Hasan Hamam and Kale Hamam from the Ottoman period in Harput survived to the present day.
Üç Lüleli Fountain
Built in 1906, the fountain is located at the entrance of Harput near Ağa Mosque (Ağa Cami). The arch of the fountain with cut stone is round, with crescent-star motifs on and palmette motifs on the sides.
Balak Gazi Park and Statue
The statue is located at the entrance of Harput, in the park of the same name. It was dedicated to the great commander Belek Gazi, who left his mark in Islamic and Turkish history with his heroism. Popularly known as Balak Gazi, this commander is the grandson of Artuk Bey, one of the commanders of the Seljuk Sultan Alpaslan in the Battle of Malazgirt in 1071, which led the Turks to enter Anatolia. The statue and park, named after Balak Gazi, who commanded the wars against the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Jerusalem, was built on an area of 5,800 square meters, in a position to see Harput from above. There is also a glass viewing terrace in Balak Gazi Park.
Harput Ulu Mosque
Harput Ulu Mosque (Harput Ulu Cami), also known as Cami Kebir, Cami-i Muazzam and Curve Minaret Mosque (Eğri Minareli Cami), was built in 1157 by the Artukid ruler Fahreddin Karaarslan. There are also many legends among the locals about the bending of mosque’s minaret, which has Anatolian and Iranian Seljuk architectural features, and the mulberry tree standing behind the pulpit, again in bent position.
Kurşunlu Mosque
Kurşunlu Mosque (Kurşunlu Cami), which is an Ottoman period work of 1739 and located in Harput, takes its name from the fact that its domes are covered with lead. It is famous for its ebony tree, originally belonging to the Harput Ulu Mosque, and its pulpit produced by the rare “kundekari” technique (known as the interlocking of small wooden geometric shapes without gluing). There is a huge plane tree in the courtyard of the mosque, which is almost the same age as the Kurşunlu Mosque. Registered as monumental trees and taken under protection, these trees protect the mosque walls with their roots from moisture, hold the dust with their leaves, and offer a cool shady area for the entry and visitors to the mosque to rest.
Alacalı Mosque
Built by the Artukids in Harput in 1204, the historical mosque takes its name from its architecture where light and dark cut stones are used together. The ceiling of the mosque, which has a small and rectangular structure, is wooden and the mosque is worth seeing with its geometric ornaments, geometric weave and star motifs.
Virgin Mary Church
One of the oldest churches in Anatolia, the Virgin Mary Church (Meryem Ana Kilisesi) is also known as the Red Church (Kızıl Kilise) and the Yakubi Church. Dating back to 179CE, the church is thought to have been used as an idolatry first before Christianity and later converted into a church by the Assyrians. It is one of the oldest and most important ancient churches of Anatolia and Christianity and is still used as a place of worship by the Assyrian Ancient Virgin Mary Foundation. The church appears to be buried within the rocks of the castle, as it is located on a high rock adjacent to the southeast corner of the Harput Castle and the rocks form the western wall of the church, offering a magnificent view to its visitors.
Şefik Gül Culture House
Restored by a private initiative as a “Museum House” and opened to visitors, Şefik Gül Culture House aims for visitors to see and get to know Harput’s traditional house architecture and life in place. The items in the culture house are also arranged in accordance with the purpose and the spirit of the period.
Palu Castle and Urartian Rock Inscription (Palu Inscription)
Palu Castle (Palu Kalesi) has been built during the Urartian period, and from this civilization dating back to the 8th century BCE, many artifacts such as the Urartian Rock Inscription, rock tombs, rock tunnels, altars, water cisterns, rock stairs and rock warehouses have survived. Thanks to its construction on a steep rock and its southern and southeastern fronts surrounded by the Murat River, Palu Castle has been protected from invasions and has survived to this day. There is the Urartian Rock Inscription, also known as the Palu Inscription, on the northeast facade of Palu Castle. In this inscription, which dates to almost 3,000 years, King Menua’s conquests in the region, the agreement he made with the King of Malatya and establishment of a temple are mentioned. The inscription sheds light on the lifestyle, culture, belief features, and political life of the period.
Palu Stone Bridge
The bridge, whose exact construction date is unknown since it has no inscription, is thought to have been built during the Roman Empire. Since the bridge was renovated during the Seljuk and Artukid periods, it bears the traces of many different civilizations and architectures. The 156-meter-long Palu Taş Bridge (Palu Taş Köprü) is referred to as “the bridge connecting İstanbul to Baghdad” in historical sources because it was the only transportation and crossing point that provided the north-south connection in its period.
Palu Church
Located in Old Palu, in Çarşıbaşı Neighborhood, Palu Church (Palu Kilisesi) belongs to the Byzantine period. Although the building has been partially destroyed, it is a cultural richness that belongs to the region with some frescoes and structural features.
Hastek Castle
Located in Ağın district, Hastek Castle (Hastek Kalesi) consists of carved caves closed to the outside, in the style of shelter, carved from the bottom layer by layer on the rocks descending steeply to the Keban Dam Lake. From the large areas of use in the form of a hall, rooms, warehouses and similar shelters connected to each other with corridors, secret stairs carved into the rock, loophole holes and windows used as a place for ventilation and light reception or defense against the enemy, it is understood that the castle was able to meet many needs in the ages it served. It is thought that the castle was built by Romans or Byzantines against Turkmen raids in about 1018 during the spreading periods of Christianity, such as underground cities in Cappadocia. Today, it is only possible to visit Hastek Castle by boat over the lake.
Bademli Rock Tombs
It was understood from the examination of some coins and inscribed stones found in the graves that the carved rock tombs found around Bademli Village in Ağın district belong to the Roman period. Its construction style is very similar to the Urartian Rock Tombs. Various shapes and rock carvings drawn with ocher on the walls of the tomb are of historical importance. Some of the Bademli Rock Tombs have small holes opening into each other.
Ağın District, İspir Mansion and Historical Ağın Houses
Ağın, which made a “Cittaslow” application in 2017, is waiting for its visitors with the restored İspir Mansion (İspir Konağı) and its historical houses built with other traditional architecture, the roasted chickpea of the Network, the fertile fields and gardens where a wide variety of products are grown, the Balkaya Crater Lake (Balkaya Krater Gölü) with a lush nature.
Ekinözü Church
Located near Ekinözü village of Elazığ, built in the early periods of Christianity before the 9th century, the church, which is also known as the Virgin Mary Church, was used as a hospital where mentally disabled people were treated, and was also used as a mosque by the local people in the 1900s.
4th Murat Inn
Also known as Demirkapı Caravanserai, the inn was built by the Ottoman ruler Murat the 4th during the Baghdad Campaign in 1638. The Inn was used for the accommodation of caravans passing through Baghdad and Çakmakkaya Village and reaching the Black Sea from the Gülek Strait.
Maden Former Government House and Clock Tower
The mansion and clock tower are in Maden district of Elazığ, famous for its copper deposits. It is known that the Former Government House was built in 1895 and the Clock Tower was built in 1898. The Clock Tower (Saat Kulesi) has local architectural features, as it is built using a combination of dark and light cut stones, called speckled. With its similar features, the Maden Former Government House also reflects the architectural features of the region and its period.
Sultan 4th Murat Mosque
The mosque was built in the center of Mollakendi district of Elazığ and on the Diyarbakır road, by order of Sultan Murat the 4th, one of the Ottoman sultans. The building wins the admiration of its visitors with its round-shaped wooden windows and exterior appearance of the stone structure, as well as its stone and woodwork.
Masjids and Tombs
Because Elazığ is a rich city of culture and belief, there are many tombs and masjids in the city. These places, which contain the graves of saints, religious scholars and miracles, who are loved and respected by the people, are still visited as sacred places where prayers and dedications are made. We can list the masjids and tombs in Elazığ, whose names we have not mentioned until now, as follows: Fatih Ahmet Baba Tomb, Üryan Baba Tomb, Arap Baba Masjid and Tomb, Imam Efendi, Mansur Baba, Beyzade Efendi, Sheikh Ali Sebdi, Mahmud Samini, Seyyid Ahmet Çapakçuri, Seyyid Muhammed Katali, Ömer Hüdai Baba, Tayyar Baba and Ahmet Peykeri.
