Out for the day
Day Trips from Batman: 8 Places Worth the Ride
The best day trips from Batman are Çayönü, Great Mosque of Diyarbakır, and Dara. They are 80 to 236 km away: out after breakfast, back in time for dinner.
1Historic & Cultural · Diyarbakır
Çayönü
161 km away · about 2.5 hours each way
Çayönü Tepesi is a Pre-Pottery Neolithic B settlement in southeastern Turkey which prospered from around 8630 to 6800 BC. It is located in Diyarbakır 40 kilometres northwest of Diyarbakır, 140 kilometers northeast of Şanlıurfa, at the foot of the Taurus Mountains. It lies near the Boğazçay, a tributary of the upper Tigris River and the Bestakot, an intermittent stream.
2Religious Sites · Diyarbakır
Great Mosque of Diyarbakır
99 km away · about 1.5 hours each way
The Great Mosque of Diyarbakır was built in the late 11th century by the Seljuk sultan Malik-Shah I over an older mosque. According to some, it is the fifth holiest site in Islam after the Great Mosque of Damascus, which influenced its design. It can accommodate up to 5,000 worshippers and hosts four different Islamic traditions.
Also thereDiyarbakır Archeology Museum
3Historic & Cultural · Mardin
Dara
99 km away · about 1.5 hours each way
Dara or Daras was an important East Roman fortress city in northern Mesopotamia on the border with the Sassanid Empire. Because of its great strategic importance, it featured prominently in the Roman-Persian conflicts. The former archbishopric remains a multiple Catholic titular see.
4Historic & Cultural · Muş
Saint Karapet Monastery, Muş
150 km away · about 2 hours each way
Surb Karapet Monastery of Mush was an Armenian Apostolic monastery in the historic province of Taron, about 30 km northwest of Mush, in present-day eastern Turkey. Surb Karapet translates to "Holy Precursor" and refers to John the Baptist, whose remains are believed to have been stored at the site by Gregory the Illuminator in the early fourth century. The monastery subsequently served as a stronghold of the Mamikonians—the princely house of Taron, who claimed to be the holy warriors of John the Baptist, their patron saint.
5Historic & Cultural · Van
Ktuts monastery
236 km away · about 3.5 hours each way
Ktuts monastery is an abandoned 15th century Armenian monastery on the small island of Ktuts in Lake Van, Vaspurakan which fell into ruins after the Armenian genocide beginning in 1915. According to tradition, the monastery was founded in the 4th century by Saint Gregory the Illuminator, after his return from Rome. It contained a hand of John the Baptist, which was kept in a reliquary now held at the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
6Religious Sites · Mardin
Mor Hananyo Monastery
89 km away · about 1.5 hours each way
The Mor Hananyo Monastery, also called Monastery of Saint Ananias, Deyrulzafaran or Dayro d-Kurkmo, and in Turkish, Deyrulzafaran Manastırı, commonly known in English as the Saffron Monastery, is one of the most renowned monasteries of the Syriac Orthodox Church. Located about 3 km east of Mardin, Turkey, in the Syriac cultural region Tur Abdin, it has served as a spiritual, cultural, and intellectual centre of Syriac Orthodox Christianity for centuries. From 1166 to 1932, it functioned as the Patriarchal See of Antioch, housing 53 patriarchs and metropolitans in its burial chambers.
7Historic & Cultural · Mardin
Zerzevan Castle
80 km away · about 1 hour each way
Zerzevan Castle, also known as Samachi Castle, is a ruined Eastern Roman castle, a former important military base, in Diyarbakır Province, southeastern Turkey. Archaeological excavations at the site revealed the existence of underground structures, among them a temple of Mithraism, a mystery religion. The castle was used as a civilian settlement between the 1890s and the 1960s.
8Historic & Cultural · Muş
Arakelots Monastery
121 km away · about 1.5 hours each way
Arakelots Monastery was an Armenian monastery in the historic province of Taron, 11 km south-east of Mush, in present-day eastern Turkey. According to tradition, Gregory the Illuminator founded the monastery to house relics of several apostles. The monastery was, however, most likely built in the 11th century.
Good to know
What is the best day trip from Batman?
Çayönü is the best-known: 161 km away · about 2.5 hours each way.
What is the closest day trip from Batman?
Zerzevan Castle: 80 km away · about 1 hour each way.
Do we need a tour for day trips from Batman?
Not necessarily. Most of these places can be reached on our own by bus, train or car; a guided tour simply saves the planning.
Distances and times are road estimates from coordinates; actual travel time depends on traffic and the way we travel.