Petition Aims to Reshape Turkish Province Batman’s Borders into Superhero’s Logo, Because Why Not

A province in Turkey is trying to reshape its borders to more closely resemble the outline of the DC comic book hero, Batman. The Batman province in Southeast Turkey has started a change petition led by local citizen Kemal Atakan Kırca.

The petition calls for local government to reshape the province's borders to more closely resemble the famous superhero logo. The petition online now at Change.org urges the province's governor to act. 

“Batman needs some change! We can start with the border. By changing the border, we can make it more realistic.”

“Batman needs some change! We can start with the border. By changing the border, we can make it more realistic,” it says. The petition already has more than 15,000 signatures gathered in just five days. 

The province, pronounced ‘Baht-mahn’ is named after an old Turkish measure of weight, it currently has about 50,000 residents. The province's capital also takes the name Batman as does the river that runs through the area. 

Mayor of city tries to sue Warner Bros. for royalties infringement

This isn't the first time the province has tried to get closer to its superhero association. In 2008, the mayor of the city Huseyin Kalkan announced his intention to sue Warner Bros. and Batman director Christopher Nolan for using the name of the city in “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight” without paying royalties. 

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The lawsuit never materialized, likely due to the fact that the comic book was developed in the 1930’s, two full decades before the city adopted its modern name. That fans of the border change have even suggested that the capital of the province could be renamed Gotham, Batman's home city. 

In the comics and films, Gotham is presented as a crime-ridden city, constantly on the edge of self-destruction. From all accounts Batman, Turkey is a pleasant place to live. 

It’s unlikely the change will happen, but no doubt the Change petition has many more people googling the city and potentially planning trips there. Tourism plays a massive role in the Turkish economy. 

Petition likely to help local tourism economy 

More than 1.5 million tourists visited the country in January 2018 alone. Many of these tourists come from close and neighboring countries such as Iran and Bulgaria but tourists from Germany saw a 10% increase in the first few months of 2018. 

Tourist operators say they are continuing to experience massive rises in the number of tourists who come to spend Summer in the country, particularly from countries like the Netherlands and Belgium.