Batman Province · Turkey
Batman travel guide
Batman is a city in Batman Province, Turkey, home to about 446,000 people.
- Best months
- May and October
- Nearest airport
- BAL5 km · Batman Airport
- Currency
- TRYTurkish lira
- Time zone
- Europe/Istanbul
- Language
- Turkish
About
About Batman
Batman (Kurdish: Êlih; Syriac: Elīḥā) is a city and capital of Batman District in Batman Province, Turkey. It lies on a plateau, 540 meters (1,772 feet) above sea level, near the confluence of the Batman River and the Tigris and had a population of 452,157 in 2021.
This was the insignificant Kurdish village of Iluh until oil was discovered nearby: first the Raman field from 1940, then the larger Batı (meaning west) Raman field from 1961. They’re Turkey’s largest oilfield and remain in production, with decades of proven reserves. This quickly led to sprawling industry, immigration of labour and a rash of shoddy ill-planned buildings. It also made the new city a focus of ethnic tensions: Turkish central government sought a tight grip on a place too lucrative to be trusted to the Kurds. For starters, that Kurdish placename would have to change.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Batman
See
- Batman Museum
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Hotels in Batman
2 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Hasankeyf | 0.6 km | |
| Hotel Bozoogullari | 2.0 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Batman
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Batman are May and October. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 38 °C; March is the wettest, with about 96 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Batman: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Batman Airport (BAL), about 5.3 km from the city centre in a straight line; Diyarbakır Airport (DIY, 82 km) and Mardin Airport (MQM, 86 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Batman Airport (BAL) has two or three flights a day from Istanbul (IST), taking 2 hours, and daily from Istanbul (SAW), Izmir and Ankara. It’s a small modern airport with the usual facilities including car rental, and is adequate for its limited footfall. (Shame really, but IATA code BAT is for Barretos in Brazil, and MAN is for Manchester in England.) The airport is at the north edge of town, but the terminal is on its north perimeter 8 km from city centre off D955. A bus shuttles downtown, otherwise take a taxi. Batman is 100 km east of Diyarbakır on Highway D-370.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
BAL · Batman Airport
DIY · Diyarbakır Airport
MQM · Mardin Airport
Questions
Batman: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Batman?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Batman are May and October. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 38 °C; March is the wettest, with about 96 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Batman?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Batman Airport (BAL), about 5.3 km from the city centre in a straight line; Diyarbakır Airport (DIY, 82 km) and Mardin Airport (MQM, 86 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Batman?
Turkish lira (TRY).
Nearby
Destinations near Batman
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.