Hammam Yalbugha is a Mamluk

Mamluk

A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...

-era public bath ("hammam

Hammam

A Turkish bath is the Turkish variant of a steam bath, sauna or Russian Bath, distinguished by a focus on water, as distinct from ambient steam....

") in Aleppo

Aleppo

Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...

, Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

. The hammam was built in 1491 by the Emir of Aleppo Yalbugha al-Naseri. It is located next to the entrance of the Citadel of Aleppo

Citadel of Aleppo

The Citadel of Aleppo is a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria. It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of the Citadel hill dates back at least to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC...

, on the banks of the Quweiq river.

History

The present building was constructed by the Mamluk governor of Aleppo, Emir Yalbugha al-Nasiri, on the ruins of a previous hammam which had been destroyed during Timur

Timur

Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...

's sacking of Aleppo in 1400. The hammam was renovated in the Ottoman-era

Ottoman Syria

Ottoman Syria is a European reference to the area that during European Renaissance from the late 15th to early 18th century was called the Levant within the early period of the Ottoman Empire, the Orient until the early 19th century, and Greater Syria until 1918...

, and it functioned as a public bath and a gathering place for locals and merchants from outside of the city until the end of the nineteenth century. At the beginning of the twentieth century the hammam was turned into a small felt

Felt

Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing woollen fibres. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any colour, and made into any shape or size....

 factory. In 1945 it was registered as a historic monument. The hammam was bought by the Antiquities department of Aleppo in the 1960s and some minor restorations took place, but the utilities were completely out of order. Between 1983–1985 the hammam underwent a comprehensive renovation that aimed to restore it into a functioning public bath again.

Architecture

The Mamluk

Mamluk

A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...

 structure is based on a typical floor plan with three sections, the frigidarium

Frigidarium

A frigidarium is a large cold pool of Roman baths. It would be entered after the Caldarium and the Tepidarium, which were used to open the pores of the skin. The cold water would close the pores. There would be a small pool of cold water or sometimes a large Swimming pool...

, tepidarium

Tepidarium

The tepidarium was the warm bathroom of the Roman baths heated by a hypocaust or underfloor heating system.The specialty of a tepidarium is the pleasant feeling of constant radiant heat which directly affects the human body from the walls and floor.There is an interesting example at Pompeii; this...

 and caldarium

Caldarium

right|thumb|230px|Caldarium from the Roman Baths at [[Bath, England]]. The floor has been removed to reveal the empty space where the hot air flowed through to heat the floor....

. Each of these three parts has a large central domed area surrounded by four iwan

Iwan

An iwan 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 pishtaq, a Persian term for a portal projecting from the facade of a building, usually decorated with calligraphy bands, glazed tilework, and...

s. The monumental street façade

Facade

A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....

is symmetrically built, with an entrance portal in the middle. The walls display ablaq decoration with alternating courses of yellow and black stone. The domed and vaulted spaces are lit by saucer

Saucer

A saucer is a small type of dishware, a plate that is specifically used with and for supporting a cup – a cylindrical cup intended for coffee or a half-sphere teacup for tea. Additionally, the saucer is a distant cousin to the plate. The saucer has a raised centre with a depression sized to fit a...

-shaped glass plugs.

Restoration

Interior and exterior finishes have been renovated using traditional methods and materials, and the original underground heat distribution canals were repaired and now serve to conceal the new heating ducts. A café, kitchen, laundry and other service rooms were added the existing facilities.