EUROPEAN MALATYA THE 2001 "CITY TOWARDS EUROPEAN UNION COMPLIANCE AWARD" GIVEN TO THE MALATYA MUNICIPALITY IS NOT SURPRISING AT ALL WHEN THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS OF THE PAST 20 YEARS IN THE CITY ARE VIEWED. THE CITY THAT HAS BESTOWED TWO PRESIDENTS TO TURKEY’S HISTORY IS NOW CHARACTERIZED AS THE MOST DEVELOPED CITY OF EASTERN ANATOLIA. BUKET AŞÇI In 2001, the Malatya Municipality won the "City Towards European Union Compliance Award" in a competition organized by the European Commission Regional Environmental Center where a total of 122 cities from Central and Eastern Europe applied. As a result of reports and examinations presented to the European Union Regional Environmental Center on topics like environmental health, hygiene, regulation of solid and liquid wastes, quality of drinking water, encouragement and supervision of environment-friendly fuels, information and education, the Malatya Municipality was found worthy of this award. Having always been characterized as a strategic passage way throughout history, Malatya thus represents an important transition in the EU-Turkey relations, even if symbolically. Top of the lot with its highways Malatya’s history can be traced to the Paleolithic Age. It has always preserved its strategic importance due to its location at the intersection of trade routes from Central Asia and the Middle East-Mesopotamia, which affords a passage to the West. Also lying under a southward branch of the Historical Silk Road, the city for this reason was a strategic point for its rulers, the Assyrian, Urartu, Persian, Byzantine, Arabic, Seljuk and Ottoman Empires. Malatya went under Ottoman dominance during the Egypt Campaign of Sultan Yavuz Selim (1517). It was initially a district under the province of Maraş and then Harput. One of the rare places not occupied by foreign states during World War I, it became a city with the declaration of the Republic. To this day it has maintained its feature of being a passage point where roads from Eastern Anatolia to West-South direction intersect. This location brought it the title of "the city with the most developed highways" in Turkey. The city has a 1044 km web of highways and 6499 km of village roads. The Erhaç Military Airport, also doing civil transportation in addition to the 237 km railway web not enjoyed by any other city, strengthens Malatya’s passageway identity. Malatya bestowed to the political history of Turkey, two presidents who epitomized historical periods of transition. The first, was the commander of the İnönü Battles, the second President of the Turkish Republic, İsmet İnönü and the Prime Minister and 8th President who left his mark on Turkey’s post 80s, the pioneer of liberalization policies, Turgut Özal. But neither politics nor strategic location… Malatya’s reputation, more than anything else, hinges on its apricots. This reputation has extended so far beyond the borders of Turkey that Malatya accounts for 10-15% of the world production of fresh apricots and 65-80% of the world production of dried apricots. Hence, nobody returns from Malatya without buying apricots. Apricots make up the subsistence of 60% of the city’s population; 95% of the output is exported primarily to the US and European countries. Malatya received $111 million of income from apricots in 2000. Since agriculture brings export revenue, Malatya has an economy based on agriculture. 64% of the working population is employed in the agricultural sector and the moderation of the climate with the dams built in recent years and the increase of the irrigable land made agriculture more efficient. Now all kinds of agricultural products can grow in Malatya, except citrus varieties. Among the city’s other important agricultural products are grains, sugar cane, tobacco, fresh vegetables and fruits. According to the data of 1999, 160,000 tons of output was produced from sugar cane and 2841 tons from tobacco. However, rises in the agricultural input costs in recent years have lead producers to give up field agriculture and tend towards apricot production. Against this level of development in agriculture, Malatya entered the Republican era with a small scale and stale economy making its first steps in industrialization with the 1933 Tobacco Factory and a Cloth Factory connected to Sümerbank. In 1968 when it was included within the group of priority cities for development, it landed on a vibrant period, the fruits of which it would collect in the ‘70s. In the ‘70s, many enterprises were founded especially in relation to the food industry, followed by the weaving industry. But at the root of Malatya’s current conditions is neither KİTs (public economic enterprises) nor its becoming a priority city for development. The economic development of Malatya actually took off after the January 24, 1980 Stability Decisions. Parallel to the industrialization process launched all over Turkey, the 1st Organized Industrial Region was a major step in the industrialization of the city. This industrial region stretched to 300 hectares of area, with 128 facilities, employing 3,500 workers and sparked off a rapid process of industrialization within the city. In Malatya out of 136 middle and large-scale industrial facilities employing 10 or more workers, 101 are in the Organized Industrial Region. The field work of the 2nd Organized Industrial Region which will further fuel the pace of industrialization in the city has been completed and infrastructure work is going on. The recent investments by the textile sector’s private entrepreneurs to Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia also invigorate the economy of Malatya. It has even become a textile production center of the region. In the city’s adoption of such a role, the Sümerbank Cloth Factory’s establishment of experience and infrastructure for investments was influential because many private investors made investments from the 1970s onwards by taking Sümerbank as an example. Thus were found the factories, İPAŞ Thread Factory (1972), ANATEKS Anatolian Textile Factory (1984), KALETAŞ Thread Factory (1985), GÜNTAŞ Gündüzbey Textile Factory that are now major companies of the textile sector in the city. Today in Malatya all types of cotton can be processed, all kinds of thread are made and varieties of weaving such as combed cotton, canvas, awning, upholstery and indigo can be woven. Model Turkey As it is situated at the intersection points of Eastern, Southeastern, Southern and Central Anatolian regions, the social structure of Malatya displays diversity and richness. In fact, Malatya is like a small model of Turkey in this respect. The city with a 12,313 km_ surface area and a population of 853,658 is the 14th largest city of Turkey. 50% of the population resides in the city and 41% live in villages. The average age is 25. The population of the city rose most between the years 1955-1960. Mechanization in agriculture created an excess labor force in villages because of which immigration to the city speeded up. When the Karakaya Dam went into operation in 1986, numerous people whose villages were left under water migrated to the city. In addition, after 1994, with terror and economic troubles, there was intense migration from Southeastern Anatolia to Malatya. Malatya’s 97% rate of literacy rests above the Turkish average. The rate of schooling is 97% in primary schools, but 55% in general and vocational high schools. İnönü University, bearing the name of the 2nd President İsmet İnönü, founded in 1975, offers education concentrated on Medicine, Science and Social Sciences. There are 644-bedded state hospitals next to many private hospitals, clinics and dispensaries. The darling of the city in the field of health is the İnönü University Turgut Özal Medical Center. It is a research and application center located on a 24,000-m_ area that also offers medical service. It is a gigantic building with a 16-storey patient bed tower, 5-storey intensive care units, 7-storey research and application labs, 4-storey clinic, 26 operating rooms, diagnosis, treatment and emergency areas. It has 720 beds, 600 for regular and 120 for intensive care patients. Having hosted many civilizations, Malatya has a wealth of historical works. Famous with its mosques, medreses (type of religious school in Ottoman times) Turkish baths and sights to see are Aslantepe, Fırıncılar Tumulus, Ören Tumulus, İkinciler Tumulus, Aslantaş, Başköy Rock Reliefs, Levent Valley, Ansur and Kaletepe Tumulus. After Adıyaman became a city, the Commagene Kingdom Remains on Mount Nemrut that was left in between the Adıyaman-Malatya border can be reached from Malatya, too. The city has 9 hotels with tourism licenses, an active capacity of 729 beds. Up next, Malatya aims to activate its tourism potential and add international recognition to its economic achievements. IDENTITY CARD Surface Area: 12.313 km2 Population: 853.658 (2000) Population growth rate: % 19 (2000) Income Per capita: $1863 (2000) Number of districts: 13 Literacy Rate: % 97 Urbanization Rate: % 59 APRICOTS ALL THE WAY FROM CENTRAL ASIA The homeland of apricots, that we eat on hot summer days from a bowl filled with ice or drink its compost on a cold winter day, is a wide area containing Turkistan, Central Asia and Western China. Apricots were brought to Anatolia in 4th century B.C during the campaigns of Alexander the Great and hence Anatolia became their second land. Traders took them first to Italy and Greece. Then, they were introduced to Spain and England in the 13th century, to France and America in the 17th century. Turkey occupies first place in world apricot production followed by Spain, Italy, Iran, France, Greece and the US. Apricots are very good for the kidneys and the liver; they help the brain work regularly, reduce stress, prevent anemia and are an aphrodisiac.