page_title: Historical monuments in Pristina
section_title: Great Hammam
hierarchical_section_title: Historical monuments in Pristina / List of monuments / Baths and Fountains / Great Hammam
caption_attribution_description: English: Prishtina and the great Hamam and the clock tower in background
context_page_description: Historical monuments in Pristina are made up of 21 monuments out of a total of 426 protected monuments all over Kosovo.
  A large number of these monuments date back to the Byzantine and Ottoman periods.
  Since 1945, the Yugoslav authorities followed the idea of constructing a modern Pristina by relying in the urban development motto “destroy the old, build the new” and this resulted with major changes in the structure of the buildings, their function and their surrounding
  environment. However, numerous types of monuments have been preserved, including four mosques, a restored orthodox church, an Ottoman bath, a public fountain, a clock tower, several traditional houses as well as European-influenced architecture buildings such as the Museum of Kosovo. These symbolize the historical and cultural character of Pristina as it was developed throughout centuries in the spirit of conquering empires.
context_section_description: The Great Hammam dates back to the 15th century. It used to be part of the complex of the Sultan Murat Fatih Mosque and according to the legend, the construction workers who were hired to build Fatih Mosque were ordered by Sultan Mehmet II to take daily baths in the hammam. It had two symmetrical baths, one for women and the other one for men. The hammam is composed of 15 domes with small holes which are used to let the light penetrate in. A fire that occurred in 1994, resulted with an illegal opening of three shops which blocked the old entrance. Unfortunately, a hammam that once used to be a prestigious social venue for men and women, for many years looked abandoned with only few remaining walls full of rubbish, overgrown trees and wastewaters flowing inside of the building. However, the complex underwent through a restoration process.
caption: Pristina and the great Hammam
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