Batman

Batman, former known as Elih, is the capital of the Turkish district and province of Batman and got its name from the surrounding mountains called Bati Raman. There is a railway which starts here and goes to Istanbul. There is also a small national airport.

Formerly, the local inhabitants were nearly 100% Kurdish. With of the growth of the booming petrol industry, many Turkish people also settled in Batman. Apart from the petrol industry, lots of the Turkish people today work for the Government as policemen, firemen, etc.

The Turkish Government has forbidden the use of the Kurdish language, just like they did with Kurdish television.

Until the 1950’s, Batman just was a small village but because of the establishment of firms connected with the petro-chemical industry in the area, the number of inhabitants grew steadily. However, today the number of unemployed people is one of the highest in Turkey.