Guide
In the stream bed north of Harput's castle, five kilometres from Elazığ, the Dabakhane spring runs into a wooden building whose date and builder are unknown. The building was reconstructed faithful to its original form in 1998. Inside are three connected basins (kurna) in which the water is constantly renewed.
The water is cold, about 5 °C, colourless, odourless and clear, meets drinking-water standards and has a pH of 7.9; among its minerals are sodium, potassium, carbonate, sulphate, chloride and iodide. The Elazığ governorship reports that it is held to be good for stomach, intestinal and liver complaints, rheumatic diseases and depression.
When to go
- Climate
- Across Elazığ as a whole, monthly mean temperatures run from -0.7 °C in January to 27.2 °C in July; the mean stays between 15 and 25 °C in May, June and September; rainfall is heaviest in April (63 mm) and lightest in August (2 mm). Long-term means for 1938-2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service (MGM).
