Islamic Hammams of the Levant

Abstract

The article presents the results of archaeological and historiographical studies of Islamic hammams in the Levant. The cities of the Levant were famous for their hammams belonging to different eras. In their architecture, decorations, and inscriptions, they were among the masterpieces of Islamic art. The hammams of the Levant were among the achievements of the architects of the Levant. Their walls were tiled and the floors were marble. An ingenious engineering system with hot water was used for heating, and the hammams were provided with cold water that flowed from beautifully shaped fountains. People used these hammams not only for bathing, but also for spending time and curing certain illnesses, as well as for some traditional social activities. Islamic civilization inherited public hammams as one of the achievements of previous civilizations. Hammams spread in the cities of the Islamic world, both east and west, as social facilities previously considered alien to Islamic architecture. It was Islamic architects and urban planners who made hammams popular public facilities to meet the vital needs of the local population. Early Muslim Arabs were not familiar with the use of abundant water before the advent of Islam. Mosques, bimaristans (hospitals) or markets played an important role in the religious, social and literary spheres. The establishment of public hammams increased in Islamic cities because of their connection with Islam's provisions for cleanliness and purification, and the inability of the population to build private bathrooms in their homes. Hammams became one of the most common constructions in the Levant, and it was not only a sign of civilization, luxury or wealth, but also an indispensable social necessity. This article is based on Arabic publications which weren’t used by Russian scientists before.