Elazig is the most orderly city of the Eastern Anatolian region, due to its being recently founded with the name of Mamurat-ül Aziz in the 19th century by sultan Abdulaziz to settle some over-population from Harput town. But it's known that the city has a much older history dating back to ancient Anatolian civilizations; Hurris, Hittites, Urartus, Byzantines, Seljuks and Ottomans. Many of the artifacts from these periods can be seen at the Ethnography and Archaeology museum in the city.
The city is situated on a plain near a mountain, at 1,067 meters above the sea level and is surrounded by vineyards and gardens. Its population is over 580.000 (2018). Today Elazig is also a trading center for crops and livestock. Mining is another important economic income in the province, the deep soil is rich of copper, iron ore, zinc, lead, chromium and magnesium.
The Keban and Karakaya Dams on the Euphrates (Firat) river and their artificial lakes contribute
to the growth and general appearance of this rapidly developing city. Keban lake is the second biggest artificial lake of Turkey, after Ataturk Dam lake. It was started to built in 1965 and produced its first electrical currents in 1974. Its yearly production is 6 billion KW/hour.
One of the historic attractions of Elazig is the Byzantine Fortress of the ancient city Harput, 5 kilometers to the north. There are also several mosques from the Seljuk period. Lake Hazar, 25 kilometers (15,5 miles) south of Elazig, is a fine tranquil site. Buzluk Cave, 12 kilometers northeast, is an interesting cave which remains cool in the summers and warm in the winters despite the harsh Continental climate of the province. There is also a small skiing center on Hazarbaba mountain, 30 kilometers to the city center.
On 24th of January 2020, a 6,8 magnitude earthquake hit Elazig at 20:55 local time, killing over 30 people and injuring around 1500.