The Twin Hamam of Tuzcu Sinan Bey ( el, Δίδυμα Λουτρά του Σινάν Μπέη Αλατά) are an
Ottoman bathhouse (
hamam) in the northern Greek city of
Veria
Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of ...
.
The baths were built by Tuzcu Sinan Bey ( means "saltman", whence Greek ) at an unknown date, but at any rate before 1640, when it is recorded that repairs were undertaken. They are located in the centre of the city, and continued to function as a bathhouse until 1935. Their name derives from the division into men's and women's sections, which are arranged in an "L"-shaped fashion. Both sections consist of the same rooms: a large dressing room covered by a round brick-built dome, a warm-water room, and a hot-water room. The bath also features a
hypocaust
A hypocaust ( la, hypocaustum) is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm th ...
, an unusual feature for Ottoman architecture in Greece. The two bathhouse sections were almost identical, with the men's section being slightly larger and more richly decorated, with
mosaic
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
s and frescoes with floral patterns.
The bathhouse was declared a protected monument in 1963. The Municipality of Veria took over the building in 1995, which today is used as a fresco conservation laboratory by the 11th
Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities.
References
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Ottoman baths in Greece
Buildings and structures in Veria
17th-century architecture in Greece