Shahmeran Hamam ( tr, Şahmeran Hamam) is a historical hamam (Turkish bath) in Tarsus, Turkey, associated with the legendary story of

Shahmaran Shahmaran ( Persian: شاهماران Şahmaran, lit. 'Shah (king) of the Snakes'; Kurdish: Şahmaran/Şamaran, Turkish: ''Şahmeran'', Tatar: Şahmara or Zilant, Зилант or Aq Yılan, Chuvash: Вĕреçĕлен, lit. 'Fire snake'), ...

Bath house

The hamam or Turkish bath house is in the urban fabric (Kızılmurat neighborhood), within the Tarsus district of the

Mersin Province Mersin Province ( tr, ), formerly İçel Province ( tr, ), is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast between Antalya and Adana. The provincial capital and the biggest city in the province is Mersin, which is composed of fo ...

in Turkey. The bath house was built on the foundations of an older Roman bath by the

Ramazanids The Ramadanid Emirate (Modern Turkish: ''Ramazanoğulları Beyliği'') was an autonomous administration and a ''de facto'' independent emirate that existed from 1352 to 1608 in Cilicia, taking over the rule of the region from the Armenian Kingdo ...

, a beylik, which was sovereign between the 14th and 16th centuries. During the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

era in 1873, it was restored. The rectangular plan hamam has four

iwan An iwan ( fa, ایوان , ar, إيوان , also spelled ivan) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...

s, the building material is rubble stone and main parts of the hamam are covered by a dome. In addition to common hamam, there are ten wooden private rooms with bath.Mersin web (Hamam)

Legend of Shahmaran

Shahmaran is a mythical creature, half woman and half snake and the

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

of the snakes. There are several versions of the tale, since it is an older story. It involves the relationship between the Shahmaran creature and a young man, and the man later betrays their trust. Towards the end of the tale, the Shahmaran leaves their cave and is killed by the townspeople in a bathhouse that bares the same name as this one. On the wall of the hamam, there are some red spots, which are the sources of the legend. However, there are many variations of the story and some believe this happened in a different location.

References

{{Mersin Province Buildings and structures in Mersin Province Turkish legends Tarsus, Mersin Public baths in Turkey