The Twin Hamam of Tuzcu Sinan Bey ( el, Δίδυμα Λουτρά του Σινάν Μπέη Αλατά) are an

Ottoman Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

bathhouse (

hamam A hammam ( ar, حمّام, translit=ḥammām, tr, hamam) or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited f ...

) 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 The ephors were a board of five magistrates in ancient Sparta. They had an extensive range of judicial, religious, legislative, and military powers, and could shape Sparta's home and foreign affairs. The word "''ephors''" ( Ancient Greek ''� ...

References

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* {{coord, 40.520803, N, 22.202255, E, display=title Ottoman baths in Greece Buildings and structures in Veria 17th-century architecture in Greece