Photo: Zeynep Tağu (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source With 12,000 years of history, Batman is the most important cultural stop on the Tigris, home to the Upper Castle of Hasankeyf, the Zeynel Bey Tomb moved to the Culture Park and the Hasankeyf Museum with its 4,000 items. It is known for Mount Raman, where oil was first found in Türkiye, boat tours on the Ilısu dam lake, and the registered Hasankeyf garlic, Sason honey and strawberries.
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9 places worth seeing in Batman, from historic monuments to natural wonders, grouped by type. Open any of them on the map with a single click.
Photo: Zeynep Tağu (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A castle founded as a frontier fortress under the Roman emperor Constantius II (4th century) and furnished with palaces and mosques in the Artuqid and Ayyubid periods; because it stands above the dam water, it has been preserved and turned into an open-air museum. The cliffs facing the Tigris hold thousands of cave dwellings.
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A park set up on the bank of the Tigris in New Hasankeyf; the Zeynel Bey Tomb, the minaret of the Er-Rızk Mosque, the Artuqid Hammam, the Sultan Süleyman and Koç mosques, the Imam Abdullah Zawiya and the Kızlar Mosque, all moved from their old sites before the Ilısu Dam, are displayed here.
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A cylindrical tomb built by the Aq Qoyunlu ruler Uzun Hasan for his son Zeynel Bey, who died in the Battle of Otlukbeli in 1473, the work of the Iranian architect Pir Hüseyin; with its turquoise-glazed brick decoration it is unique in Anatolia. It was moved in one piece in 2017 and placed in the Culture Park (the photograph was taken at its old site).
View on mapIn the Kale neighbourhood, one of the oldest settlements of Kozluk, are the İbrahim Bey Mosque, the Hıdır Bey Mosque and the ruins of Kozluk Castle.
View on mapA museum displaying about 4,000 items found in the Hasankeyf excavations, from the Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages and the Roman, Artuqid and Ottoman periods; it was fully opened to visitors in 2019 in New Hasankeyf.
View on mapThe reservoir of the Ilısu Dam on the Tigris, which began to hold water in 2019 and started generating energy in 2020; boat tours are run in front of Hasankeyf and stand out for their sunset views.
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Photo: Vedatblc72 (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Source A mountain 1,288 metres high, very close to the centre of Batman; oil was found here in 1940 by the MTA (Mineral Research and Exploration Directorate) for the first time in Türkiye, changing the fate of the city. There are still working oil wells on its slopes.
View on mapThe Sason (Aydınlık) Mountains, rising to 2,500 metres in the north of the province; their highland pastures are the production area of Sason honey and strawberries, registered with a protected designation of origin.
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Photo: Zalasem1 (CC BY 4.0) · Source A monument in the city centre symbolising the oil production that made Batman the city it is today, and the well workers.
View on mapBatman is a young province in Southeastern Anatolia, set between the Tigris and the Batman Stream. The foundation of today’s city is the small village of İluh: when oil was first found in Türkiye on nearby Mount Raman in 1940, the village grew rapidly and, together with the refinery, became an industrial city. It became a district under the name Batman in 1957 and, on 16 May 1990, Türkiye’s 72nd province.
The oldest and most famous settlement in the province is Hasankeyf. The town, whose name derives from the Syriac Kifo, meaning “rock”, because of the thousands of caves carved into the limestone cliffs on both banks of the Tigris, was a Roman frontier fortress, a Syriac bishopric, the Artuqid capital from 1102 to 1232, and then an Ayyubid and Aq Qoyunlu town. Finds from the Hasankeyf mound go back 12,000 years.
The situation today: When the Ilısu Dam began to hold water, the historic lower town was submerged from the beginning of 2020. Buildings such as the Zeynel Bey Tomb, the minaret of the Er-Rızk Mosque, the Artuqid Hammam, the Imam Abdullah Zawiya and the Kızlar Mosque were moved to the Culture Park in New Hasankeyf, built 3 km away. The Upper Castle, which remained above the water level, has been preserved and turned into an open-air museum; boat tours run on the dam lake.
In Batman summers are very hot and almost rainless, winters cold and wet. Averages for 1952–2025 from the Turkish State Meteorological Service:
| Month | Avg. high | Avg. low | Rainfall | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.9 °C | −1.4 °C | 60 mm | 11 |
| February | 10.8 °C | 0.0 °C | 64 mm | 10 |
| March | 16.0 °C | 3.6 °C | 76 mm | 11 |
| April | 21.8 °C | 7.9 °C | 72 mm | 11 |
| May | 27.8 °C | 11.4 °C | 46 mm | 8 |
| June | 35.1 °C | 15.9 °C | 8 mm | 2 |
| July | 39.5 °C | 20.2 °C | 2 mm | 0 |
| August | 39.6 °C | 19.7 °C | 2 mm | 0 |
| September | 34.6 °C | 15.1 °C | 5 mm | 1 |
| October | 26.8 °C | 10.1 °C | 33 mm | 6 |
| November | 17.1 °C | 4.2 °C | 54 mm | 7 |
| December | 9.8 °C | 0.6 °C | 62 mm | 10 |
The best times are April to May and October. In July and August the average high is 39–40 °C; the highest recorded value is 48.8 °C. In summer, visit Hasankeyf early in the morning or at sunset. In spring the Tigris valley turns green and the strawberry season begins at Sason.
By air: Batman Airport is 7 km from the city centre and has regular flights from Istanbul and Ankara.
By road and rail: Batman is about 1.5 hours from Diyarbakır; the railway through the city is part of the Kurtalan line. Hasankeyf lies south-east of Batman, on the Batman–Midyat road.
Day 1 – Hasankeyf: In the morning, see finds from the Palaeolithic to the Ottoman period at the Hasankeyf Museum; then tour the Zeynel Bey Tomb and the Er-Rızk minaret in the Culture Park. In the afternoon climb to the Upper Castle, and take a boat tour on the dam lake at sunset.
Day 2 – Batman and around: See the view from Mount Raman and the oil field; in the city centre, try Batman’s own piçik and Şam böreği. In spring you can head to the strawberry gardens of Sason.
Batman’s registered geographical indications are Batman piçik yemeği, Batman Şam böreği, Hasankeyf Mehina sarımsağı (garlic, with a protected designation of origin), Sason balı (honey) and Sason çileği (strawberries), Kozluk domatesi (tomatoes) and Gercüş Mezrune üzümü (grapes). The kebabs, içli köfte and Tigris fish of Southeastern cuisine also feature often on the table.
Batman province has 6 districts. Explore the places to visit, local dishes and transport in each one.
A local dish unique to Batman, with a registered geographical indication.
A Batman börek with a registered geographical indication.
Mountain strawberries registered with a protected designation of origin.
Highland honey registered with a protected designation of origin.
The main stops are the Hasankeyf Upper Castle, the Hasankeyf Culture Park (Zeynel Bey Tomb, Er-Rızk minaret), the Hasankeyf Museum, a boat tour on the Ilısu dam lake, Mount Raman, the Kale neighbourhood of Kozluk and the Sason Mountains.
The historic lower town was submerged in 2020 when the Ilısu Dam began to hold water. Some of the important monuments were moved to the Culture Park in New Hasankeyf; the Upper Castle remained above the water and is preserved as an open-air museum.
The Aq Qoyunlu tomb, dated 1473, was moved in one piece from its old site in 2017 and placed in the Culture Park in New Hasankeyf.
The first oil in Türkiye was found in 1940 on Mount Raman in Batman.
Its oil, Hasankeyf, the registered Batman piçik dish and Şam böreği, Hasankeyf Mehina garlic, Sason honey and strawberries, and Kozluk tomatoes.
April to May and October are the best months. In July and August temperatures approach 40 °C.
The information in this guide has been compiled from and checked against the sources below (last checked: 7 October 2026). If you spot an error, please let us know.