The city in Anatolia

Why?

Why do i feel all the time the need to justify myself ? Why i write all this emails asking them to add cities and universities and it never happens ! Please add my cities and what i ask you guys to do !

So once again i start by saying this following post will be about the city of Malatya not Diyarbakir , but as i fell some of you may encounter same issues like me i just put it out there so there is no place for confusion. All the rating and characteristics are about the city of Malatya !

Getting there

Since i spoiled the surprise i had a quite nice experience in this city . It all started when i wanted to go with my boyfriend Muhammet to visit Mount Nemrut Dagi . As i am know doing my internship in Elazig i guess i always knew and heard about Malatya but i never had an interest in going and actually visit . People they were saying to me is quite bigger than Elazig and nicer with many things to do and places to see.

So when we decided to go to Nemrut it was one weekend in April i guess , first thing in getting to Nemrut is to go to Malatya and from there get a connection to the mountain . We went in the center of Elazig and and ask around how can be get to Malatya , we found out that we have two options , either we take a mini bus which will take us there in around 1 hour time  or we get a train which will make more than 3 hours . As much as i wanted to go by train ,since i never been in Turkey , we choose to go by mini bus , they had every 30 minutes buses going to Malatya . I guess i never understand why do trains get into this long detours when it suppose to make our journey easier no?!

So on a Saturday morning we poop on a small bus , ticket is 10 TL from Elazig to Malatya one way , and after 50 minutes or less i cannot recall now exactly , we were in this city everybody was pushing me to go . We get down in the main bus station and from there there was a car service which had to take us downtown , which was so good since we never been here or knew the city .

Best thing about transportation in Turkey ,by bus , is that whenever you travel long hours and distances at the end of the line there is always a car service waiting for you and take you home or close to it . Why i don't see this is other countries or in my own country , why ? Not to mention they have drinks and food service in all the buses, with a steward guy always on display .They do make transportation more comfortable and enjoyable that's for sure.

The city of apricot

Whenever i go to a new place i do like to Google it before and check what there is new to visit there , of course i did the same with Malatya even if i knew it's just gonna be a transit city , my final destination was Nemrut .

When we arrived in the city center first impression was oh my God ! like in a bad way , too much people on the street for my taste , now i know what a crowded center may look , every Sunday try to talk in Trabzon during the day that's a crowded street . But in Malatya was terrible so many people walking from every side . We decided to take a walk explore a bit the city , it was around 11 in the morning i guess. My Google information was telling me that most important things to see here are basically one big mosque which every time you open Google images you will see this spectacular building with an amazing fountain in front , second thing this huge apricot shape which is the symbol of the city and i guess that's it .

As we were walking and checking what this city was about personally i cannot tell you oh how amazed i was , okay it' s better that Elazig , more shops that's for sure , but too many people which at some point can drive you crazy . But i did appreciate the variety of restaurants , shops and supermarkets .

Funny thing as we were waking we saw this huge crowd following this guys on motorcycle, they were a Turkish version of Sons of Anarchy which i am an obsessed fan so i said to Muhammet we need to go to check it out . Indeed they were like 10 guys with their awesome Harley's and i guess their cut was saying something like the Turks or i don't know my Turkish it too bad . But the funny thing was that this crowd was actually in front of this huge and amazing mosque . Well i guess without searching for it i found it . So there it was the mosque i wanted to see !

It may not look exactly like when you Google it but for sure it has the same impact when you stand in front of it . It's pretty amazing even though the fountain was not on unfortunately . I guess we were in the city center because this mosque is position some how right in the middle so it can attract people .

To tell you the fact i do not know the name of this mosque and i have no intention in to Google it and then just be fake about it and write , absolutely no ! Around the mosque is a cool place to hang out as i saw , of course in the middle of the day a bunch of old people was sitting there but if i was an Erasmus student in this city for sure i will hang out during the night evenings .

It is so funny how i did not plan for this city to visit and all this attractions they were just there in front of me . I don't know how you guys are but whenever i go to visit a new city i am like military organized and i always make a list with what is there to do and see .

Great Malatya's name symbol posted in front of their top attraction , for sure is a smart idea and you can get a great photo our of it .

Orange or apricot ?!

As i was saying before this city is famous for it's apricots , on the road to Malatya my boyfriend was telling me about it , he never been before as well but i guess every city is particularly in a way . So i guess they grow here amazing apricots . Which takes me to my second stop i wanted to see and get an instagram , the huge apricot sign which again i came across out of nowhere . Actually after the mosque is a few minutes walk straight and then you make a left on the other side of the city center and there you will see this symbol which is more like a round turn sign for cars .

Many times i was confused if this is an orange or an apricot , it looks more like an orange to me. Whatever it is ,is looking great .

We stopped for a shaorma and we were just asking the waiter what there is else to see in this city . As i guessed not much besides those i already pass by . We were confused if to stay over night in Malatya explore more the city or just get on with the original plan of Nemrut . After we visited some agencies trying to get some information on how to get to Nemrut we decided to stick with the original plan . But more about my adventure to Mount Nemrut make sure to check my blog post about it , you will not be disappointed !

Umbrella spot

A cool place i came across as we were strolling around the city was a street bazar and an all red umbrella spot or i don't know how to call it .

This place really made my day and got me a great instagram picture as well . No but really i never seen like this , amazing decor and great idea . Is basically just a walk by throw the city streets with the bazar market next to it .

And of course i had to take a picture with my beloved best friend and boyfriend Muhammet which yes he is Turkish and we meet in our Portugal Erasmus ,the story about it in my Portugal blog post !

In conclusion

Another thing i saw is that they have great supermarkets and imagine i saw also a big Metro , which is a hipermarket we always shop home in Romania , i was indeed surprise they have it . For sure i will return to Malatya in the nearest future , maybe just to go shopping at Metro or just to check the city and the shops again !

But in conclusion i do prefer Elazig than Malatya , maybe because is more quite and not so much crowded , i feel like people in Malatya they were so stressed out and always in a hurry . But i do recommend a visit more if you are in that traditional and cultural state of mind.

xoxo from Malatya