Elazığ

Elazığ Province Capital.
Elâzığ (Kurdish: Elezîz) is a city in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey and the seat of Elâzığ Province. It has a population of 347,857 according to the 2012 census, and the plain on which the city extends has an altitude of 1067 metres. The population of Elazığ consists of Turks, Kurds and Zaza people. Contemporary Elâzığ initially developed as an extension of the historic city of Harput (Kurdish: Xarpêt, Armenian: Խարբերդ, EA: Kharberd, WA or Kharpert, Harput), which was situated on a hill and difficult to access in winter.

Elazığ today is the capital of the Elazığ province, a bustling city with a university and an industrial base, although historic monuments are understandably scarce. The exception is of course the ancient Harput citadel and town, a dependency of the greater municipality of Elazığ today situated three miles (4.8 km)to the north of the city center. The population of Elazığ consists of Turks, Kurds and Zaza people.[10]

Elazığ is known for being conservative and patriotic. Not a single leftist party has managed to get a candidate elected in the past 34 years. Moreover, the BDP, an ethnic nationalist Kurdish party, has never managed to get an official elected to the Turkish Grand National Assembly in contrary to its neighbouring provinces Tunceli and Diyarbakır. Elazığ is also the most developed city (and province) in the region according to a report that was carried out by the Ministry of Development, making it the most developed region of Eastern Anatolia Region.