Fethi Ak, the local who discovered the canyon, expressed his wonderment, saying: "We used to see such places in documentaries, but it turns out that we've had it near us all this time.
"I have never imagined that there would be such a great place in our region, I'm so delighted."
Taner Sengun, a geologist at Fırat University, said discovery of the canyon will boost tourism in Elazığ and Turkey overall.
"It's a very young canyon in terms of formation, you can easily walk there," he said.
"One of Turkey's most attractive canyons in terms of natural beauty and formation mechanism is now reachable in Elazığ," he added.
