Melissa Vargas arrives in Malatya after being invited

Melissa Vargas, who has made a name for herself with her success in the A National Women's Volleyball Team, was met with great interest in Malatya, where she had promised to visit.

Vargas, who answered her teammates' question of 'where are you from?' with 'I am from Malatya', was invited to the city by the Malatya Metropolitan Municipality. She was accompanied on her visit by Turkish Volleyball Federation President Mehmet Akif Üstündağ, who is also from Malatya. A large crowd welcomed Vargas and Üstündağ at Malatya Airport.

'GRANDCHILD OF BATTALGAZİ'

Vargas's first stop was the Malatya Governor's Office. Governor Ersin Yazıcı presented Vargas with Malatya apricots. Vargas later met with Malatya Metropolitan Mayor Selahattin Gürkan. In front of the municipal building, chants of 'grandchild of Battalgazi' were shouted for Vargas, and she was presented with a Malatyaspor scarf.

'MELISSA IS THE ORIGINAL NAME OF MALATYA'

Metropolitan Mayor Selahattin Gürkan stated that he was honored to host Vargas in Malatya.

Thanking Vargas and the other players for the pride they brought to the country, in the person of Üstündağ, Gürkan said:

"Melissa Vargas expresses that she is honored to be from Malatya. Both with the jersey bearing the number 44, the license plate of Malatya, that she wears in matches, and with the performance she has shown in sports competitions, she is truly making an intense effort to represent our nation and our city. After becoming a Turkish citizen, she took the name Melissa after our President invited her to Turkey and gave her her citizenship identity card. Melissa is the first name of Malatya. Melita, Melidu, Melidya, and Melissa are the original names of Malatya. The meaning of her name is honey, sugar, sweet, beautiful. This is the meaning of Melissa. Therefore, she has not only been content with being from Malatya, but by taking the first name of Malatya in history, she has also expressed that she is a true Malatyan.''