Batman Province
Batman Province (Template:Langx, Template:Langx;<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Langx) is a province in Turkey.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref> It was created in May 1990 with the Law No. 3647 taking some parts from the eastern Province of Siirt and some from the southern Province of Mardin.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Its area is 4,477 km2,<ref name=area/> and its population is 634,491 (2022).<ref name=tuik>Template:Cite web</ref> Its current governor is Ekrem Canalp.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The province is considered part of Turkish Kurdistan and has a Kurdish majority.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
History
From July 1987 to October 1997 Batman Province was included in the OHAL state of emergency region.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Development of oil fields resulted in relocation of Turkish people into a mostly Kurd-populated Batman Province. This brought ethnic conflicts which escalated in the 1990s. More than 180 civilians were killed in the Batman city area by unidentified gunmen between 1992 and 1993.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The province became a stronghold of the Kurdish Hezbollah, a Kurdish Sunni Islamist organization, and it was reported that Batman hosted a camp where the militants received military and political training.<ref>Akkoç v. Turkey, Application Nos. 22947/93, 22948/93, Judgement of 10 October 2000 Template:Webarchive, European Court of Human Rights judgment concerning Akkoç v. Turkey case, section II, C</ref>
Recent individual incidents include the following: 1 Turkish soldier was killed and 2 wounded during clashes in the province on 15 April 2010.<ref>Template:Usurped. Worldbulletin.net (2010-04-16). Retrieved 2010-08-20.</ref> Four Kurdish civilians were killed on 1 August 2010 after their vehicle struck a roadside bomb.<ref>BDP'lilere mayın tepkisi. Samanyoluhaber.com. Retrieved 2010-08-20.</ref>
Geography
The province occupies an area of Template:Cvt.<ref name=area>Template:Cite web</ref> It lies in a mountainous area with the average elevation of 550 meters which contains several thousands of caves. The tallest mountains are Sason Dağları (2500 m), Meleto (2967 m), Kuşaklı Dağı (1947 m), Avcı Dağı (2121 m), Meydanok Tepesi (2042 m), Kortepe (2082 m) and Raman Dağı (1288 m). Several rivers (Template:Langx or Template:Lang) flow through the province, including Tigris, Batman, Sason and Garzan. The Template:Cvt long Batman River flowing approximately from north to south forms a natural border between the Batman Province and Diyarbakır Province lying to the west. The historic Malabadi Bridge (built in 1146–1147) crosses the river near the town of Silvan. The Tigris flows from west to east, merges with the Batman River and exits the province. The Garzan River flowing from north to south enters the Tigris and separates Batman from the Siirt Province lying to the east.<ref name="g2">Batman. Coğrafya Template:Webarchive, kultur.gov.tr, 21 February 2007 (in Turkish)</ref> The province is also of interest from an archaeological point of view. Sights include the Imam Abdullah Dervish monastery, the bridge of Camiü‘r Rızk and Hasankeyf.
Districts
The province is divided into six districts:
There are 289 villages in the province.<ref>Köy Template:Webarchive, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 30 January 2023.</ref> Template:Clear left
Demographics
The population of the province is rapidly growing as a result of the inflow of workforce to the capital. Between 1990 and 2000, its population was rising at a rate of 5% per year. The population was stable in Beşiri and Gercüş, increasing by 1% per year in Kozluk and Sason and decreasing by 3% per year in Hasankeyf.<ref>The Characteristics Of The Population By Provinces, 2000 Population Census. City and Village Population, Annual Growth Rate of Population, Surface Area and Population Density By Districts. turkstat.gov.tr</ref> The total population was 634,491 in 2022.<ref name=tuik/>
Template:Historical populations
Oil industry
Search for oil in the Batman Province was started in 1935. On 20 April 1940, oil was found at a depth of 1048 meters at the Raman oil field, south-east of Batman, nearby the city. The first experimental well started producing 10 tonnes (about 62 barrels) per day from 6 June 1940.
The field was expanded for commercial production by 1945, but the production was delayed to 1947 by the lack of storage. A small refinery was built at the site with a capacity of 9 tonnes/day by 1947 and by November 1948 a bigger refinery capable of processing up to 200 tonnes/day was built in Batman. An even bigger refinery (330 tonnes/d) was built in Batman by 1955.<ref name="petr">History of petroleum Template:Webarchive, tpao.gov.tr</ref> Several other oil fields were later discovered in the province with the Batı Raman oil field, which produces about 7,000 barrels daily, being the largest oil field in Turkey.<ref name="oil" /><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A Template:Cvt long oil pipeline was brought in 1967 from Batman to the port city of Dörtyol near the easternmost point of the Mediterranean coast to transport the Batman crude oil. The pipeline has an annual capacity of 3.5 million tonnes and was transporting about 20 million barrels (about 2.7 million tonnes) in the 1990s and about twice less between 2003 and 2007. Another, short (Template:Cvt) pipeline connected Batman with Şelmo – the location of the second largest oil field in Turkey.<ref>Selmo Oil Field Template:Webarchive, TransAtlantic Petroleum</ref> It was transferring between 1.5 and 0.5 million barrels per year in the period 1990–2007. Both pipelines are operated by BOTAŞ.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
| Name | Discovered | Production started in |
Reserves (million bbl) |
Production (bbl/day, 2007) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batı Kozluca | 1978 | 1980 | 138 | 1500 |
| Batı Raman | 1961 | 1962 | 1850 | 7000 |
| Dinçer oil field | 1988 | 1990 | 55 | 400 |
| Garzan oil field | 1951 | 1956 | 163 | 1700 |
| İkiztepe oil field | 1988 | 1990 | 53 | 400 |
| Raman oil field | 1940 | 1947 | 400 | 4000 |
Batman dam
The Batman dam construction was started in 1986 and completed in 1999. It has a height of 85 meters and an annual power generation capacity of 483 GWh (peak power 198 MW). The associated reservoir has a surface area of 49 km2 and a volume of 1.175 km3. The dam supplies water for an area of Template:Convert.<ref>Batman Dam Template:Webarchive, General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works</ref>
Famous personalities
- Karapetê Xaço (1900–2005) – traditional singer of Kurdish Dengbêj music
- Cigerxwîn (1903–1984) – Kurdish poet, writer, journalist, historian, lexicographer and nationalist.
- Ali Rıza Alan (born 1947) – wrestler
- Ibrahim Bilgen (1949–2010) – politician, electrical engineer and activist.
- Hüseyin Kalkan (born 1950) – former mayor of Batman city
- Hüseyin Velioğlu (1952–2000) – leader of the Kurdish Hezbollah
- Mehmet Şimşek (born 1967) – politician, former Minister of Finance of Turkey
- Nalin Pekgul (born 1967) – politician
- Ayşe Acar Başaran (born 1985) – politician
- Mehmet Demir – politician
- Alan Ciwan – actor
- Şehmus Hazer (born 1999) – professional basketball player
- Sevgi Yorulmaz (born 1982) – Paralympic archer
- Mansur Çalar (born 1986) – footballer
- Nurullah Kaya (born 1986) – footballer
- Ahmet Arı (born 1989) – footballer
- Erdal Akdarı (born 1993) – footballer
- Mizgin Ay (born 2000) – track and field athlete
See also
- Ilısu Dam Campaign
- Sasun Resistance (1894)
- Sasun Uprising (1904)
- Southeastern Anatolia Project
- List of populated places in Batman Province
- Yazidis
References
External links
- Maps of Kurdish Regions by GlobalSecurity.org
- Map of Kurdish Population Distribution by GlobalSecurity.org
Template:Districts of Turkey Template:Provinces of Turkey Template:Authority control Template:Coord