History
A sourced timeline of the names in the records, the documents and the changes the village has seen.
A village’s book of memory
Mezirme
One name lives on in the official records, the other still on people’s lips. Mezirme gathers the history, culture, places and stories of Ballıkaya, each with its sources.
Malatya · Hekimhan · Ballıkaya
- Official name
- Ballıkaya, mahalle (neighbourhood) (Law No. 6360)
- In the records
- Merzume 1530 · Mezirme 1916 (Nişanyan place names)
- Elevation
- ~1,521 m (SRTM)
- Population
- 222 (2025) (TÜİK, ADNKS)
- Distance
- Hekimhan 23 km · Malatya 80 km (OSRM)
- Faith
- Centre of the Şah İbrahim Velî ocak (Yıldız 2012)
Traces of memory
Read the village as a whole
From document to oral account, from place of pilgrimage to directions: every section of the site opens straight onto its own records.
Faith and Culture
The ocak tradition, places of pilgrimage, dede-minstrels and musical culture.
Places
Rock outcrops, the old settlement, water and places of pilgrimage; what we know and what we are still looking for.
About Mezirme
The essentials: the village’s name, location and population, from the old village to the new settlement.
Archive and Oral History
Photographs kept with their details and permissions; oral recordings that state who told them and when.
Getting There
Roads, distances, location and map links that open on your phone.
Its place on earth
The map is not the whole story; it is a trace that shows where the village lies.
Ballıkaya lies between Hekimhan and Arguvan. The terrain map helps to read the village’s surroundings; detailed directions and location information are kept on separate pages.
Added to the book
Latest articles
What the information rests on
What do we know, and how do we know it?
- Documented Official data, an academic publication or an archival record
- Reported A local study or a news report; not yet verified
- Oral account An oral account; narrator and date are known
Conflicting information is not hidden; it is shown side by side with what it rests on. Editorial principles
This book grows together
An old photograph, document or memory?
Everything you send is published with your permission, your name and its date.