Battalgazi district

Understand

This city is now on its third site. The first was at Aslantepe / Orduzu 7 km northeast. This was inhabited 6000 years ago in the Chalcolithic or Copper Age that followed the Late Stone Age and morphed into the Bronze Age. The Hittites ruled it from 1400 BC and called it Malidiya, possibly from their word for honey. It was repeatedly destroyed but rebuilt, and populated into modern times. However under the Romans from 72 AD it was outgrown by a second site called Melitene 4 km further north. This was centred on a military camp and is now the town of Battalgazi. In the 1830s Egypt was nominally an Ottoman vassal state, but vied for independence and to rule over Syria. This led to two wars, and in the first the Ottoman forces proved so useless that Egypt occupied large tracts of Turkey and almost captured Constantinople. The Ottomans patched themselves up and launched the second war to regain their losses, in preparation for which they occupied Melitene in 1838, making the sort of mess that had caused Egypt, Greece and a slew of other territories to seek independence. The citizens fled southwest to the rural district of Aspuzu, and this became the third and present site of the city. The Ottomans were again trounced in the second war but western nations frantically propped up them up to prevent Russia muscling in, and to engineer their own control over oil-rich territories to the east. Late 19th century Malatya grew and industrialised, but was roiled by fires, earthquake, cholera and the genocide of its Armenians. It's now the largest city of central-eastern Anatolia, where the rolling steppes of central Anatolia fetch up against the eastern mountains. Industries are agriculture (especially apricots) and textiles. It's at an altitude of 954 m so winters are cold and blanketed in snow. Spring is wet and summers can be sweltering; early autumn is often a pleasant time to visit.

Getting there

By plane 1 Malatya Erhaç Airport (MLX IATA), Aksaray, ☏ +90 422 266 0046. This has several flights a day from Istanbul IST and SAW (2 hours), and daily from Ankara and Izmir. The low footfall means few facilities here, but car hire firms offer pre-booked pick-up / drop-off. It's 30 km northwest of the city, no bus, you need a taxi. (updated Oct 2025)

By train High-speed YHT trains run as far as Sivas, where the train from Istanbul at 09:00 via Ankara at 13:20 connects with a regional train. This leaves Sivas around 17:00 to reach Malatya at 21:00, so the travel time from Ankara is 8 hours. The westbound train leaves at 08:00. A slow train trundles daily from Ankara around 11:00, taking 16 hours via Kırıkkale, Kayseri and Sivas, then at 04:00 continues into the night. Five days a week this is the Güney Kurtalan Express to Diyarbakır, Batman and Kurtalan, another 10 hours. Two days a week it's Vangölü Express to Elazığ, Muş and Tatvan, for connections to Van, Tabriz and Tehran. Westbound trains call at Malatya at 19:30 to reach Sivas at midnight and Ankara at noon. Change at Sivas for the train to Erzincan, Erzurum, Kars and connections to Georgia. Two days a week, 4 Eylül Mavi runs from Ankara at 19:00 by the same slow route, to terminate at Malatya at a more congenial 10:30 next morning. The return leaves Malatya at 15:30 to reach Sivas at 20:00 and Ankara at 07:30. The train from Adana is suspended because of interminable engineering works near that city. For timetables and online tickets see TCDD. 2 Malatya railway station was wrecked in the 2023 earthquake and has not yet been re-built, so there are almost no facilities there. It's 5 km northwest of city centre. Dolmuses and buses #1A and #1B run frequently to the central square.

By road Malatya is on D-300, the 2000-km highway stretching from near Izmir on the Aegean coast to Van and the border with Iran. It's toll-free and mostly dual carriageway. From Ankara follow O-21 toll motorway south to join

Getting around

City sights are in a compact walkable area, but Malatya sprawls, and you need a bus or dolmuş to reach the bus and railway stations and for outlying sights. City buses are jaunty yellow. "Valilik" or "Vilayet" means Governor's Office and is the usual way to indicate city centre on transport. D-300 through the city is variously called Turgut Özal Blv, Ankara Cd or Çevre Yolu. İnönü Cd is the downtown thoroughfare a few blocks south.

See

New Mosque (Yeni Cami or Hacı Yusuf Taş) was damaged beyond repair in the 2023 earthquake. It's been demolished and a replacement is not yet built. The adjoining main square Soykan Meydanı is likewise cordoned off. Photo Museum is about old cameras rather than photography. It's on İnönü Cd 300 m west of the main shopping centre, open Tu-Su 10:00-18:00. 1 Kernak Mosque was rebuilt in 2020 to make it more quakeproof, and that was a really smart decision, as it survived. It's 800 m south of the main square at the corner of Ipek Cd and Şehit Hamit Fendoğlu Cd. Malatya Museum 100 m south of the mosque was badly damaged and remains closed. Waterfalls Park (Şelale Parkı) is the strip south of Kernak Mosque, where water cascading down the hillside is canalised. At its foot the channel turns into the bosky median of Şehit Hamit Fendoğlu Cd, for that reason known informally as Kanalboyu. 2 Atatürk House, Atatürk Cd 73, ☏ +90 422 321 2125. Tu-Su 08:00-17:00. The mansion where Kemal Atatürk stayed during his visits to the city. Free. (updated Oct 2025) Saat kulesi the clocktower on Atatürk Cd west of the mansion is late Ottoman. (Kışla Caddesi is how Atatürk Cd is more usually known.) Hürriyet Park (meaning "freedom") is east of the mansion. At its entrance is the obligatory statue of Atatürk, next to a naked young man. It's not wise to speculate aloud about what that fellow's up to.

3 City Museum, Mehmet Buyruk Cd 2. Tu-Su 08:00-17:00. Exhibiting city history and pre-history. Free. (updated Oct 2025) Taşhoron Church is an Armenian church of 1893, restored in 2021 but damaged in the earthquake and not yet re-opened. It's on Yeni Boztepe Cd 1 km east of city centre. 4 Turgut Özal Nature Park is a large park at the east edge of the city, with walking and cycling paths and barbecue areas. Turgut Özal (1927-93) was born in Matalya, and served six years as Turkey's prime minister then three as President. 5 Aslantepe, 1st Sk, Orduzu (7 km northeast of city), ☏ +90 422 337 2482. Part

Do

Hamams - traditional Turkish baths - are found in city centre. Football: Yeni Malatyaspor were relegated in 2025 and again in 2026 so they now play soccer in TFF 3. Lig, the fourth tier. Their Yeni Malatya Stadyumu (capacity 26,000) is 10 km east of the city along D-300 near the university. Malatyaspor the original city team play down in the amateur leagues at Yeşiltepe Stadyumu, northwest edge of the city. Apricot Festival is in July, the harvest season.

Buy

Malatya Park AVM is a large shopping mall west side of Mövenpick Hotel. It has a cinema.

Eat

Apricots are grown in orchards cloaking the surrounding countryside. Like any seasonal product, there's a glut w