Malatya Province ( tr, ; ku, Parezgêha Meletîyê) is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. It is part of a larger mountainous area. The capital of the province is Malatya. The area of Malatya province is 12,313 km². Malatya Province had a population of 853,658 according to the results of 2000 census, whereas in 2010 it had a population of 740,643. The provincial center, the city of Malatya, has a population of 426,381 (2010). According to the Encyclopedia of Islam, the province is considered part of

Turkish Kurdistan Turkish Kurdistan or Northern Kurdistan () refers to the southeastern part of Turkey, where Kurds form the predominant ethnic group. The Kurdish Institute of Paris estimates that there are 20 million Kurds living in Turkey, the majority of th ...

Demographics

According to German geographers Georg Hassel and Adam Christian Gaspari, Malatya was composed of 1200 to 1500 houses in early 19th century, inhabited by Ottomans, Turkmens, Armenians, and Greeks, while the mountainous areas in the

sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...

of Malatya were mostly inhabited by Kurdish tribes such as Reşwan. The province had a population of 306,882 in 1927 of which was

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

. Linguistically, Turkish was the most spoken

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother to ...

at , followed by Kurdish at and Armenian at . The population increased to 410,152 in 1935 of which was Muslim and Christian. Turkish remained the most spoken first language at , followed by Kurdish and Armenian at . The province had a population of 483,568 in 1950 of which Turkish was spoken by of the population, followed by Kurdish at . Armenian remained the third most spoken language but decreased to . The modern province of Malatya doesn't fully coincide with the province of Malatya until 1954, before when the province also included the modern Turkish province of Adıyaman, which was more than double Kurdish-speaking than Malatya according to the 1965 census. It was estimated in 2012 that about 20% to 30% of the province was

Alevi Alevism or Anatolian Alevism (; tr, Alevilik, ''Anadolu Aleviliği'' or ''Kızılbaşlık''; ; az, Ələvilik) is a local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Alevi Islamic ( ''bāṭenī'') teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, w ...

the vast majority of which was Kurdish. This group is mostly politically aligned with nationalist Kurdish parties especially after the Sivas Massacre and activity of the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of south ...

since the early 1990s.

History

German academic Barbara Henning describes the province as the regional center of

Kurdish nationalism Kurdish nationalism (, ) is a nationalist political movement which asserts that Kurds are a nation and espouses the creation of an independent Kurdistan from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Early Kurdish nationalism had its roots in the Ottoman ...

in the early 20th century. During this period, the local governor of the province and mayor of Malatya city were both sympathetic to the Kurdish cause and Celadet Bedir Khan, Kamuran Alî Bedirxan and other members of the

Society for the Rise of Kurdistan Society for the Rise of Kurdistan ( ku, Cemîyeta Tealîya Kurdistanê) also known as the Society for the Advancement of Kurdistan (SAK), was secretly established in Constantinople on 6 November 1917 and officially announced organization forme ...

visited the region various times and established cordial relations with the local tribes including with the Reşwan tribe.

Geography

Malatya turgut ozal nature park stream and trees view

Districts

Malatya province is divided into 14

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

(capital district in bold): *

Akçadağ Akçadağ ( ku, Arxa) is a district of Malatya Province of Turkey. The mayor is Ali Kazgan. On 24 Jan 2020 the town was impacted by a magnitude 6.7 earthquake. Administration The District governor is Serdar Demirhan and the towns mayor is Ali Ka ...

Arapgir Arapgir ( hy, Արաբկիր; ku, Erebgir) is a town and district of Malatya Province, Turkey. As of 2000 it had a population of 17,070 people. It is situated at the confluence of the eastern and western Euphrates, but some miles from the right ...

* Arguvan *

Battalgazi Battalgazi, ( ku, Melediya kevn), is a town and district of Malatya Province of Turkey. The mayor is Selahattin Gürkan ( AKP). Formerly named Eskimalatya (''Old Malatya''), the center town corresponds to the previous location of Malatya city, ...

* Darende *

Doğanşehir Doğanşehir, ( ku, Wêranşar/Mûhacîr), also known as Muhacir, Viransehir, Viranşehir, is a district of Malatya Province of Turkey. The mayor is Vahap Küçük ( AKP). Historically the city was known as Sozopetra (Greek: Σωζόπετρα). G ...

* Doğanyol * Hekimhan *

Kale Kale (), or leaf cabbage, belongs to a group of cabbage (''Brassica oleracea'') cultivars grown for their edible leaves, although some are used as ornamentals. Kale plants have green or purple leaves, and the central leaves do not form a hea ...

* Kuluncak * Malatya *

Pütürge Pütürge or Pötürge ( ku, Şîro) is a district of Malatya Province of Turkey. The mayor is Mehmet Polat ( AKP). Composition The district is populated by Kurds (both Alevi and Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, follo ...

* Yazıhan * Yeşilyurt

Local sites

* İnönü University (since 1975) * Turgut Özal Medical Center (in İnönü University) * Malatya Erhaç Airport (serving both public and military) *

Eskimalatya Battalgazi, ( ku, Melediya kevn), is a town and district of Malatya Province of Turkey. The mayor is Selahattin Gürkan ( AKP). Formerly named Eskimalatya (''Old Malatya''), the center town corresponds to the previous location of Malatya city, ...

(old city centre, historical place)

Demographics

History

Geography

Districts

Local sites

Bibliography

References

External links