Kharpoot

Harpoot (Turkish: Harput) or Kharpert (Armenian: Խարբերդ, romanized: Kharberd) is an ancient town located in the Elazığ Province of Turkey. It now forms a small district of the city of Elazığ. In the late Ottoman period, it fell under the Mamuret-ul-Aziz Vilayet (also known as the Harput Vilayet). Artifacts from around 2000 BC have been found in the area. The town is famous for its Harput Castle, and incorporates a museum, old mosques, a church, and the Buzluk (Ice) Cave. Harput is about 1,100 kilometres (700 mi) from Istanbul.

Harput was a largely Armenian populated region in medieval times and had a significant Armenian population until the Armenian genocide. By the 20th century, Harput had been absorbed into Mezre (renamed Elazığ in 1937), a town on the plain below Harput that significantly grew in size in the 19th century.