Shahmeran Hamam () is a historical

hamam A hammam (), also often called a Turkish bath by Westerners, is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the Islamic culture, culture of the Muslim world and was inherited ...

(Turkish bath) in Tarsus, Turkey, associated with the legendary story of

Shahmaran Shahmaran is a mythical creature, half-woman and half-snake, originating in Indo-Iranian and Turkic folklores. Etymology The name ''Shāhmārān'' comes from the Persian words ''Shāh'' ( شاه), and ''mārān'' (; 'snakes'; مار ''mar ...

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 (), formerly İçel Province (), is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast between Antalya Province, A ...

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

Ramazanids The Ramadanid Emirate (Turkish language, Modern Turkish: ''Ramazanoğulları Beyliği'') was a Turkish people, Turkish autonomous administration and a ''de facto'' independent emirate that existed from 1352 to 1608 in Cilicia, taking over the ru ...

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

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

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

iwan An iwan (, , also as ''ivan'' or ''ivān''/''īvān'', , ) 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 Dictionary. "Monarch". 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 ...

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