By Robert Schrader
Weird and Amazing Travel Expert, about.com
A few weeks ago, when I was on my way to Ethiopia, I found myself flying over Turkey—this is not surprising, given that I was boozing it up in Turkish Airlines' business class.
As I peered first at the crazy sunset out my window, then at the flight
map on the screen in front of me, I wondered if my champagne hadn't
caused me to say things: Was I really flying over a city called Batman?
The
answer is yes—and there's good news and bad news in that. The good news
is that indeed, there's a city in the world called Batman, even if it
is deep inside Turkey,
a country the Batman franchise didn't penetrate until well after its
creation in 1939. Indeed, while the naming of Batman took place well
after the birth of Batman, the identical nature of the two is purely
coincidental.
The History of Batman's Name
Batman is a
city (and province) today, but as recently as 60 years ago, it was a
village of only a few thousand people. And, perhaps more interestingly
than that, both also had a different name: The village that became
Batman city, you see, was called Iluh, while its province was called
Siirt, until the late 1950s.
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Now, if you know anything about Batman (the character), you might
be scratching your head. Since this renaming occurred almost two
decades after the introduction of Batman, couldn't it be more than a
coincidence that the Turkish city now bears its name? Unfortunately not.
Batman
city and province took their current names not because of DC comic
superheros, but because of the Batman River that runs through it.
Things to Do in Batman, Turkey
Not
surprisingly, thing to do in Batman, Turkey are limited—for most of the
types of tourists visiting Turkey anyway. Indeed, while some Roman
ruins exist on the outskirts of town, it's well known that they pale in
comparison to the ones you can find elsewhere in the country.
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In
fact—and I'm not making this up—the most popular activity for tourists
in Batman is to find one of the "Batman" signs beside the highway that
leads you into the city and pose for pictures beside it.
Owing to
its location (relatively) near the Iraqi border, Batman has a
substantial population of Kurdish people, and can be a good place to
learn about Kurdish culture if you don't care to cross into Iraq proper.
People in Batman are actually extremely open to speaking about Kurdish
issues, which is unique in Turkey, where the political landscape makes
even candid discussions about this topic taboo, to say the least.
Like
many other cities in interior Turkey, Batman is not a party hot spot—it
can be difficult or even impossible to find alcohol here.
Interestingly, Batman is home to a restaurant with an important social
mission, one Bruce Wayne would certainly be proud of. Known as "Labor
Women" in English, it's a great spot for either tea or breakfast, and
donates its proceed to helping vulnerable women, both in terms of
addressing their immediate needs as well as passing legislation to
protect their rights.
How to Visit Batman Turkey
In spite
of my fondness for Turkish Airlines, this post is neither an
advertisement for nor an endorsement of them. I mention this disclaimer
because of what I'm about to say next: The easiest way to travel to
Batman is to take one of the daily Turkish Airlines nonstops from
Istanbul's Atatürk Airport (or, alternatively, low-cost Pegasus Airways
from Sabiha Göçken Airport, located across the Bosphorous in the Asian
part of Istanbul).
If
you don't take flights available from other Turkish air gateways,
namely Ankara and Izmir, your best bet is to travel to Batman from
cities located in surrounding Anatolia state—namely, Diyarbakır or
Kurtalan.
