Eastern oil town Population: 465,000
Other name: Elih (Kurdish)
Don’t be fooled by the name – there’s nothing remotely comic-book about this busy town which actually takes its name from the nearby Batı Raman mountains. Oil was found here in 1948 since when it’s been boom, boom, boom, despite the troubles in the east which left the town under curfew for much of the 1990s.
Batman is about as attractive as Milton Keynes for visitors but it does offer a decent range of hotels and restaurants which, for some, might make it a good base for visiting Hasankeyf. It’s most conspicuous “monument” is the huge new Batman Park shopping mall, the place to go if you fancy a coffee in the sort of air-conditioned comfort you’d find in İstanbul.
The town has no clear central square. Instead lengthy Diyarabakır Caddesi, the main drag, counts as “the centre”, with the roundabout known locally as Dörtyol as its focus.
Batman Museum (closed Mondays) on Barış Bulvarı is attached to a cultural centre in the Fatih Mahallesi. It offers an inttroductory showcase for the many largely forgotten ancient sites in the area as well as to nearby Hasankeyf; the ruins at Çattepe looked especially interesting. The basement hosts changing photographic exhibitions while the grounds contain replicas of houses from the Neolithic and other periods. To reach the museum it’s quicker to walk across the park than to take the bus although without being able to speak Turkish it could be tricky to find the way.
Eating and drinking
Batman is hardly a culinary hotspot but I ate at the smart Çırağan Restaurant on Diyarbakır Caddesi (Tel: 0488-212 6311) and was impressed by the service.
By far the best place in town seemed to be Çömçe (Tel: 0488-213 1776) which has been in business since 1986. One can see why. It’s garden was packed to overflowing with happy diners eating amid fountains and a large children’s play area. The food was lovely. Ditto the prices.
Just off Diyarbakır Caddesi there’s a small pedestrianised street with a line of small teahouses along one side. Most offer nargiles to a largely male clientele.
If the heat and the dust is getting to you the Batman Park AVM (shopping centre) offers a predictable food hall and a pleasant branch of Kahve Diyarı with cooling frappuccinos.
Sleeping
Meyankökü şerbeti (liquorice drink) seller passes Batman’s teahouses
Hotel Bozooğulları. Tel: 0488-215 0444
Transport info
The İlçe Otogar (local bus terminal) for all local destinations is a short walk away from Dörtyol, the roundabout in the middle of Diyarbakır Caddesi near the Ancient Mesopotamia Hotel.
Regular dolmuşes to Hasankeyf leave from Dörtyol as well as from this otogar. You can also pick up local buses to Sason, Kozluk, Kurtalan and Beşiri from the local terminal.
Just a block away a second terminal houses minibuses to Diyarbakır and İkiköprü. There are dolmuşes to Diyarbakır at least every 15 minutes during the day.
It’s also possible to get from Batman to Diyarbakır and back by train. The station is in the centre of Batman although the timetable may not be very convenient.
Day trip destinations
Ayranci (Mor Kiryakos Monastery)
