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ANCIENT HAMMAM (PUBLIC BATH) |
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Oriental public bath dedicated for men or for women, consists of three sections: (outside), (middle) and (inside) where people used to gather on weekend or just before the holidays |
| NOUR EDDINE |
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Hammam Nur al-Din is one of the oldest bathhouses in Damascus. It is very well
conserved and still in regular use today. The hammam is one of Nur
al-Din's major constructions, along with the madrasa and the hospital or
bimaristan, located nearby. The hammam is situated inside Bzuriyyeh Suq amidst a row of shops selling spices and sweets; its entry, therefore, is totally engulfed within the business of the suq. The large domed chamber immediately inside the entrance is the changing and lounging area, known as the mashlah. It is unusually grand and dates from the Ottoman period. It has six iwans in axial symmetry and an octagonal pool in the middle. Given that this is the only area within the hammam devoid of steam, wooden furniture and accessories appear here, often replaced in line with the fashions of the day. It is here that bathers remove their clothes, and there are little niches beneath the stone benches, or mastabas, to leave outdoor shoes and don bathhouse slippers. The bathing halls proper are still the original Nuri construction. Furthest from the entrance is where the bathing experience begins, starting with the cold-water chambers, known as barrani or 'exterior areas'; these are composed of three sequential square rooms with octagonal interiors and domed roofs of varying sizes. The middle room is larger than the front and back rooms, and it contains the passageway to the warm-water chambers, known as wustani, or the middle area. The architectural style and layout of the hammam underlines the centrality of the wustani, which is of large octagonal shape and capped by a gored dome resting on a drum of 16 niches. The interior of the wustani is perfectly symmetrical. Small ledge-like annexations with pointed-arch entries, known as maqsuras, open up on its four diagonal sides and offer bathers some seclusion. Passageways on the front and back sides lead to the hot and cold areas respectively, while the right and left sides are attached with trapezoidal corridors that open up to two more rooms of rectangular shape, each surmounted by two small octagonal domes. These rooms are usually used for facilities like massage and depilation. Finally, there is the hot-water chamber known as juwwani or the 'interior area', which is a wide and barrel vaulted oblong space with curved sides. Steam enters the room through a side vent linked to the furnace, or bayt al-nar. This is the hottest room where bathers would rest on stone benches and really sweat it out in order to deep-cleanse their skin. The luxury of regular access to, and indulgence in water, continues to be considered heaven on earth, the usual greeting upon finishing a trip to the bath is “Na'iman” referring to heavenly bliss |
| KHANJI |
| YALBOUGHA |
