Five bathhouses were identified by the French orientalists Michel Ecochard and Claude Le Coeur as the oldest in the ancient city of Damascus, namely: al-Buzuryieh, al-Afif, Same, Sitti Adhra (destroyed in the 1920's), al-Suruji. All go all the way back to the 12th & 13th centuries CE. What about that of al-Malik al-Zahir?!
From a historical standpoint, al-Malik al-Zahir's would be the oldest of them all, with the caveat that it has undergone such radical transformations throughout its long life that one can no longer identify its original plan. Such was the chronological dislocation between its different components in 1943 (when the classical French study was published) that the oldest part (the so called "hot chamber") was deemed of Ayyubid age whereas the "warm chamber" appeared as recent as the 18th century.
Located in intra muro Damascus right up against the north wall of al-Madrasa al-Zahiriya, this edifice may be identified with the Aqiqi Bathhouse, constructed according to historical texts prior to 979 CE. If we accept this identification as valid, al-Malik al-Zahir would by far be the oldest bathhouse in Damascus, bar none.
According to Stefan Weber, the murals of the undressing hall were painted at the turn of the 19th-20th century. The edifice was partly modified during a renovation in 1986-1987.
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| dome paintings, undressing room (1999) |
From a historical standpoint, al-Malik al-Zahir's would be the oldest of them all, with the caveat that it has undergone such radical transformations throughout its long life that one can no longer identify its original plan. Such was the chronological dislocation between its different components in 1943 (when the classical French study was published) that the oldest part (the so called "hot chamber") was deemed of Ayyubid age whereas the "warm chamber" appeared as recent as the 18th century.
 |
| wall paintings, undressing room (1999) |
Located in intra muro Damascus right up against the north wall of al-Madrasa al-Zahiriya, this edifice may be identified with the Aqiqi Bathhouse, constructed according to historical texts prior to 979 CE. If we accept this identification as valid, al-Malik al-Zahir would by far be the oldest bathhouse in Damascus, bar none.
 |
| al-Malik al-Zahir's plan, 1943 |
According to Stefan Weber, the murals of the undressing hall were painted at the turn of the 19th-20th century. The edifice was partly modified during a renovation in 1986-1987.
Les Bains de Damas, deuxième partie
Michel Ecochard et Claude Le coeur
Institut français de Damas
Imprimerie Catholique, Beyrouth 1943
Damascus
Ottoman Modernity and Urban Transformation
1808-1918
Stefan Weber
Proceedings of the Danish Institute in Damascus V 2009
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