Malatya

Malatya (Turkish pronunciation: [mɑɫɑtjɑ]; Armenian: Մալաթիա, romanized: Malat'ia; Syriac ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city has been a human settlement for thousands of years.

In Hittite, melid or milit means "honey", offering a possible etymology for the name, which was mentioned in the contemporary sources of the time under several variations (e.g., Hittite: Malidiya and possibly also Midduwa; Akkadian: Meliddu; Urar̩tian: Meliṭeia). Strabo says that the city was known "to the ancients" as Melitene (Ancient Greek Μελιτηνή), a name adopted by the Romans following Roman expansion into the east. According to Strabo, the inhabitants of Melitene shared the language and culture of the nearby Cappadocians and Cataonians.

The site of ancient Melitene lies a few kilometres from the modern city in what is now the village of Arslantepe and near the district center of Battalgazi. Present-day Battalgazi was the location of the city of Malatya until the 19th century, when a gradual move of the city to the present third location began. Battalgazi's official name was Eskimalatya (Old Malatya); until recently, it was a name used locally.

The city is a major centre of apricot production, with up to 80% of Turkey's output originating from the region. The city is nicknamed kayısı diyarı ("apricot realm") as a result.