page_title: Turkish bath
section_title: Greece and Cyprus
hierarchical_section_title: Turkish bath / Famous examples / Greece and Cyprus
caption_attribution_description: English: Király Baths in Budapest, 2nd distr., Ganz Street Magyar: Király fürdő (vagy Török fürdő), Budapest, II.ker., Ganz utca
context_page_description: A Turkish bath or Hammam is a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Ottoman Empire, as well as other regions and historical periods of the Muslim world. A variation on it as a method of cleansing and relaxation became popular during the Victorian era, and then spread through the British Empire and Western Europe. The buildings are similar to Roman thermae. Unlike Russian saunas, which use steam, Turkish baths focus on water.
  The particular bathing process roughly parallels ancient Roman bathing practices. It starts with relaxation in a room heated by a continuous flow of hot, dry air, allowing the bather to perspire freely. Bathers may then move to an even hotter room before they wash in cold water. After performing a full body wash and receiving a massage, bathers finally retire to the cooling-room for a period of relaxation.
  Unlike a hammam, Victorian Turkish baths use hot, dry air; in the Islamic hammam the air is often steamy.
context_section_description: In Thessaloniki, Bey Hamam was built in 1444 by sultan Murad II. It is a double bath, for men and women. The baths remained in use, under the name "Baths of Paradise", until 1968. Pasha Hamam was built in 1520–1530, during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, and operated until 1981 under the name "Fenix Baths". Restored, it now houses archeological findings from construction on the Thessaloniki metro. 
  The Hamam Omerye Baths in Nicosia date to the 14th century. Built as an Augustinian church of St. Mary of stone, with small domes, they date to the Frankish and Venetian period, like the city walls. In 1571, the ruler Mustafa Bilal Geldosh Pasha converted the church into a mosque, believing that it was where the Khalifa Umar rested during his visit to Lefkosia. Most of the building was destroyed by Ottoman artillery although the door of the main entrance belongs to the 14th century Lusignan building, and remains of a later Renaissance phase can be seen at the north-eastern side of the monument. In 2003, the [EU] funded a bi-communal UNDP/UNOPS project, "Partnership for the Future", in collaboration with Nicosia Municipality and Nicosia Master Plan. The Büyük Hammam dates to the 14th century.
caption: Király Baths building on Ganz Street, Budapest
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