When the 17th century Turkish writer Evliya Çelebi, who travelled throughout the Ottoman Empire recording everything he saw, visited Malatya he remarked upon the plentiful water from numerous springs, the good air, and the orchards and vineyards in the green plain, and said that this was a city which aroused the admiration of all those who travelled there.

Malatya is a city encircled by the Beydağları range of mountains, an extension of the Toros, and its position on the road linking Anatolia to Mesopotamia meant that it was settled at a very early stage in history. It saw many civilisations come and go, including the Hittites, Assyrians, Romans, Persians, Arabs, Seljuk Turks and their successors the Ottomans. Assyrian tablets unearthed at Kültepe and dating from the early 2nd millennium BC give the name as Melita, while the Hittites knew the city as Maldia meaning honey, the Romans as Melite or Melitene, the Persians as Aspozanı, the Arabs as Malatiyye, and the Turks as Malatya.

Of all the crops grown on the fertile green plain of Malatya, the most celebrated is the apricot. In recent years apricot cultivation has expanded still further, and at the end of June when the apricot orchards turn golden yellow the busy work of picking the ripe fruit begins. Seasonal workers from Adıyaman pour into the province with their families, laden with quilts and the other possessions they need to camp out in the apricot orchards for the next month. The orchards take on a festive colourful air as tents are set up and fires lit for cooking. Tired after a hard day’s work they sleep early, so as to be up at dawn the following day. The women are out and about first, cooking breakfast and completing the day’s domestic tasks so that the family starts work on time. Young women with babies sing them to sleep in hammock cradles slung between the apricot trees.

The work begins in June and carries on at the same hectic pace to the end of July. Canvas sheets are spread out beneath the trees and the fruit shaken to the ground. It is packed into cases and taken to be treated with sulphur. After 36 hours the apricots are laid out on plastic sheets to dry for two days. Then they are stoned and pressed flat, and laid out in the sun again for another two days.

Sulphur treatment reduces the drying time, preserves the natural colour of the fruit, prevents weevils, and lengthens the time that the apricots will keep. Over 80 percent of all the apricots grown in Malatya are treated with sulphur prior to drying. The dried apricots, known as gün kurusu at this point, are stored for sale to factories where they are cleaned, washed, dried again and packed.

Malatya is the largest producer of apricots in Turkey, which in turn is the largest producer in the world, so Malatya is in fact the world champion. Apricots are a native of Turkistan, an ancient region encompassing Central Asia and western China, and were introduced to Anatolia at the time of Alexander the Great’s campaigns in the 4th century BC. Here the fruit flourished in the climate and soil of its new home. In the 1st century BC during the wars between Rome and Persia Armenian merchants carried the apricot to Greece, from where it found its way to Italy. But it was to be many centuries before it ventured further into Europe, reaching Spain and England only in the 13th century, and France and America in the 17th century.

Turkey accounts for nearly 15 percent of world production of fresh apricots. Most of the apricots produced in Malatya, Erzincan and Elazığ are dried, while the apricots grown in other regions of Turkey are mainly sold fresh. Turkey’s dried apricot production is between 80 and 90 percent of the world total. Seedlings grown from the stones of wild apricots (zerdali) are used for the propagation of apricots, and in August these seedlings are grafted. There are a huge number of varieties of cultivated apricot in Turkey, the most common being the Hacıhaliloğlu, followed by the Soğancı, Hasanbey, Çoloğlu, Çataloğlu, Şekerpare, Yeğen, Hacıkız, Paşa Mişmişi, Turfanda and many others. The Hacıhaliloğlu, Soğancı and Çataloğlu apricots are grown for drying, and the others as table apricots.

The apricot stones do not go to waste, as the kernels contain glucose, amygdalin, starch and oils. Bitter kernels are used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry, while the sweet kernels are used in the food industry. The hard shells are used as fuel.

Malatya Apricot Festival has now grown over the years into a memorable event held between 17 and 31 July. If you happen to be in Malatya during those two weeks do not forget to visit the apricot orchards around Karakaya Dam in particular. Here you can taste the jam being made outdoors in cauldrons and filling the air with its delightful aroma, and taste the diverse varieties of apricots grown in the region, while at the same time enjoying the spectacular setting on the shores of the dam lake, at the foot of the high Beydağları mountains.

Skylife 07/99
Text and photos Günsel Yıldırım
Günsel Yıldırım is a photographer.