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If you like apricots,
you'll love Malatya, the apricot
capital of Turkey.
Malatya's farmers produce huge harvests
of excellent apricots and cherries which,
fresh or dried, are shipped throughout
the world. The city is also an alternative
base for visits to Nemrut
Dagi.
There has been a town here for at
least 3000 years, known in Hittite times
as Milidia, in Roman times
as Melitene, today as Malatya (mah-LAHT-yah,
alt. 964 m, 3163 ft.; pop. 400,000).
Ismet Inönü, Kemal
Atatürk's comrade-in-arms
and second president of the Turkish
Republic, was born in Malatya.
If use Malatya as a base for your
ascent of Nemrut
Dagi (instead of Adiyaman or Kahta),
it will take you longer to reach
the top, and you'll have to stay
overnight in a dingy hotel, but
you'll see both sunset and sunrise at
the summit, and you won't have to endure
the tour-operator hassles which
are the norm in Kahta. Here in Malatya
the tours are organized by the tourist
office.
Turkish
Airlines flies daily nonstop
between Malatya, Ankara and Istanbul,
which is a lot more air
service than to Adiyaman,
so if you need to fly in and fly
out quickly, Malatya is a better
choice. You could conceivably fly
from Istanbul or Ankara to Malatya, rent
a car, drive up Nemrut
Dagi, explore the summit, drive
back down, and be back in Istanbul
or Ankara the next day.
Daily express trains connect
Malatya with Ankara, Istanbul, Kayseri, Sivas,
Elazig and Diyarbakir,
but the bus is
faster and usually more comfortable.
You can cross over from the
north (Malatya) side of the summit
to the south (Kahta)
side, or vice-versa, but there is no
scheduled transportation from either
side. Have all your luggage with you
(which is a hassle), walk to the other
side and ask to see if there's an empty
seat in a car or minibus descending
that side.
Distances & Travel Times
Adiyaman: 185
km (115 miles), 3 hours
Diyarbakir: 252
km (157 miles), 4 hours
Erzurum: 421
km (262 miles), 7 hours
Gaziantep: 247
km (154 miles), 3.75 hours
Istanbul: 1124
km (698 miles), 18 hours
Kahramanmaras: 223
miles (139 miles), 4 hours
Kahta: 225
km (140 miles) N, 3.5 hours
Kayseri: 354
km (220 miles), 6 hours
Nemrut
Dagi (Summit, North): 72
km (45 miles), 3.5 hours
Sivas: 247
km (154 miles), 3.75 hours
Tatvan: 263
km (163 miles), 4.5 hours
Eastern
Turkey
Central
Anatolia
Southeastern
Turkey
Turkey
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