Elazig - this name has long fascinated me. The name sounds nice (at least in comparison to the name of many other Turkish cities) and it is located near the confluence of the two rivers (the Murat and the Karasu) that join to form the mighty Euphrates, one of the most prominent and historically significant rivers in the history of humanity. Hence I decided to stay overnight in Elazig while on the way from Van to Sivas and Amasya, and have a look how this city looks like.
The city of Elazig is, as usual for any Turkish city located near big bodies of water, a dusty one. But it is also a thriving city with a very ancient pedigree and a sizeable student population, thanks to the presence of the Euphrates University in the city.
The name 'Elazig' is a relatively modern invention. In the old times, Elazig was known as Harput (Armenian for 'rocky fortress'), and the town used to be home to a large Armenian community with a vibrant cultural and intellectual life until the Armenian genocide in the eary 20th century, when virtually all of the region's Armenian populations were wiped out. The modern city of Elazig only began to experience population growth during the interwar years. The current township of Harput (Old Elazig), located about 5km outside of modern Elazig on a hill, is the original settlement and has probably been continuously settled since 2000 B.C. Although most of Harput's inhabitants have moved to modern Elazig in the post-1945 years in part due to a chronic shortage of water in the ancient settlement, there are still some 2000 people living in the town centre of Harput today, in spite of its high altitude and the lack of water resources.
Frequent buses connect Harput with downtown Elazig. The municipal bus to Harput leaves from in front of the Great Mosque in Elazig. Tickets can be bought at the ticket booth next to the bus stop or from the driver on the bus.
With the exception of Harput, there are relatively little tourist attractions within the city of modern Elazig, but the city has a relatively lively flaire and lots of friendly locals. There aren't that many hotels in the city, given the absence of tourists, and on the day of my arrival all hotels within the city limit were booked out (it seems the number of business visitors must be quite high). Anyway, the manager of the fully booked 3 star hotel in downtown Elazig was friendly enough to give all the small guesthouses in Elazig a call and finally found me a room at a nice little guesthouse in the city centre for 25TL a night.
For those interested in the history of Anatolian civilizations, Harput is a must-visit place. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously settled townships in Anatolia, Harput is also home to the famous Harput Castle, built by the first Armenian kings which once ruled this area. The Castle is now undergoing an extensive restoration programme (although parts of the restored castle fortification walls are a bit too new for my taste, but at least they are not left to rot in the snow and rain), and archelogical excavation works are still being carried out on the site. During my visit to the Castle, I ran into a group of Turkish archeologists showing some university students around the excavation site, and they simply could not hide their surprise to see a foreigner walking around, as neither Elazig nor Harput ranks among the Top 10 Tourist Meccas in Turkey. Even the Turks themselves are not aware of the historical significance of this place unless they happen to have a strong interest in medieval history or archaeology.
Harput Castle is also known as the place where two medieval crusader kings/princes, Baldwin II of Jerusalem, and Joscelin I of Courtenay, were imprisoned until their rescue by their Armenian allies. Such historical facts always remind me of how tightly interwoven the histories of Medieval Europe, Eastern Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean region are, as these are names that we normally associate with Christian crusaders, not with the river Euphrates or Armenian Kingdoms or the Mesopotamian region. It also highlights the often conveniently forgotten truth that borders and boundaries of states, countries and administrative units are just arbitary and temporary creations of power politics. Imagine how the ethnic composition of this town would have looked like today if the course of history had taken another direction.
In addition to Harput Castle, several important Islamic and Ottoman medieval architectures also contribute to the wealth of historical attractions in Harput. Most important of all is the Ulu Camii, built in 1156 by one of the Artuklu sultans. It remains one of the oldest and most important religious structures in Anatolia. The town centre of Harput is full of remains of Ottoman era hamams, mosques, even Syriac-Christian churches. Now and then one sees a bus load full of Turkish pilgrims entering the various religious sites and have their lunch at one of the local restaurants with a view of the deep valleys beneath Harput, but all in all this town has remained very quiet and likeable. No bus loads of day-trippers, no aggressive shopkeepers trying to persuade you to buy gifts or souvenirs. You can choose to sip tea at one of the many reasonably priced tea houses with a view of the valley or just wander around the town at a leisurely. Grante, there are no rows of restored Ottoman mansions or impressive natural landscape on hand, but you would get a real taste of life in Anatolia.
Copyrights@2010. All Rights Reserved. All text and photos by YC Cheng.
The city of Elazig is, as usual for any Turkish city located near big bodies of water, a dusty one. But it is also a thriving city with a very ancient pedigree and a sizeable student population, thanks to the presence of the Euphrates University in the city.
The name 'Elazig' is a relatively modern invention. In the old times, Elazig was known as Harput (Armenian for 'rocky fortress'), and the town used to be home to a large Armenian community with a vibrant cultural and intellectual life until the Armenian genocide in the eary 20th century, when virtually all of the region's Armenian populations were wiped out. The modern city of Elazig only began to experience population growth during the interwar years. The current township of Harput (Old Elazig), located about 5km outside of modern Elazig on a hill, is the original settlement and has probably been continuously settled since 2000 B.C. Although most of Harput's inhabitants have moved to modern Elazig in the post-1945 years in part due to a chronic shortage of water in the ancient settlement, there are still some 2000 people living in the town centre of Harput today, in spite of its high altitude and the lack of water resources.
Frequent buses connect Harput with downtown Elazig. The municipal bus to Harput leaves from in front of the Great Mosque in Elazig. Tickets can be bought at the ticket booth next to the bus stop or from the driver on the bus.
With the exception of Harput, there are relatively little tourist attractions within the city of modern Elazig, but the city has a relatively lively flaire and lots of friendly locals. There aren't that many hotels in the city, given the absence of tourists, and on the day of my arrival all hotels within the city limit were booked out (it seems the number of business visitors must be quite high). Anyway, the manager of the fully booked 3 star hotel in downtown Elazig was friendly enough to give all the small guesthouses in Elazig a call and finally found me a room at a nice little guesthouse in the city centre for 25TL a night.
For those interested in the history of Anatolian civilizations, Harput is a must-visit place. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously settled townships in Anatolia, Harput is also home to the famous Harput Castle, built by the first Armenian kings which once ruled this area. The Castle is now undergoing an extensive restoration programme (although parts of the restored castle fortification walls are a bit too new for my taste, but at least they are not left to rot in the snow and rain), and archelogical excavation works are still being carried out on the site. During my visit to the Castle, I ran into a group of Turkish archeologists showing some university students around the excavation site, and they simply could not hide their surprise to see a foreigner walking around, as neither Elazig nor Harput ranks among the Top 10 Tourist Meccas in Turkey. Even the Turks themselves are not aware of the historical significance of this place unless they happen to have a strong interest in medieval history or archaeology.
Harput Castle is also known as the place where two medieval crusader kings/princes, Baldwin II of Jerusalem, and Joscelin I of Courtenay, were imprisoned until their rescue by their Armenian allies. Such historical facts always remind me of how tightly interwoven the histories of Medieval Europe, Eastern Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean region are, as these are names that we normally associate with Christian crusaders, not with the river Euphrates or Armenian Kingdoms or the Mesopotamian region. It also highlights the often conveniently forgotten truth that borders and boundaries of states, countries and administrative units are just arbitary and temporary creations of power politics. Imagine how the ethnic composition of this town would have looked like today if the course of history had taken another direction.
In addition to Harput Castle, several important Islamic and Ottoman medieval architectures also contribute to the wealth of historical attractions in Harput. Most important of all is the Ulu Camii, built in 1156 by one of the Artuklu sultans. It remains one of the oldest and most important religious structures in Anatolia. The town centre of Harput is full of remains of Ottoman era hamams, mosques, even Syriac-Christian churches. Now and then one sees a bus load full of Turkish pilgrims entering the various religious sites and have their lunch at one of the local restaurants with a view of the deep valleys beneath Harput, but all in all this town has remained very quiet and likeable. No bus loads of day-trippers, no aggressive shopkeepers trying to persuade you to buy gifts or souvenirs. You can choose to sip tea at one of the many reasonably priced tea houses with a view of the valley or just wander around the town at a leisurely. Grante, there are no rows of restored Ottoman mansions or impressive natural landscape on hand, but you would get a real taste of life in Anatolia.
Copyrights@2010. All Rights Reserved. All text and photos by YC Cheng.
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