Harput Castle

A fortress on a rocky massif above the plain, five kilometres from Elazığ, in the old town of Harput. Its foundation is dated to the Urartian period, roughly the eighth century BC, after which it was rebuilt in turn by the Romans, the Byzantines, the Artuqids and the Ottomans. Its second name is Süt Kale, the milk fortress: according to legend the mortar for the masonry was mixed with milk, because there was no water on the rock. The walls are set right on the edge of the cliff and from a distance read as a continuation of the stone; inside, cisterns, a mosque and dwellings have been excavated. The viewing platform looks out over Elazığ and the Keban reservoir. Nearby, in Harput itself, stand the twelfth-century Ulu Mosque with its leaning minaret and several mausoleums of the same period. The earthquake of 2020 damaged part of the walls, and the fortress is periodically closed for strengthening work.

Address

Harput, Elazığ

On the map