Ḥammām al-H̱arāb

The location is intra-muros Damascus, south of Via Recta (sūq Madḥat Pāšā), near the Jewish Quarter.

Also known as Taḥt al-Qanāṭir's, this Ottoman bathhouse was first studied by Écochard and Le Cœur in 1933, when its condition was described as "perfect." By the time their landmark study was published in 1942-1943, the edifice was all but gone except for a ripped-open undressing room transformed into a garage.

The plan was described by the French duo as "coherent and homogeneous." Its monumental façade, mosaics, and decoration are very similar to Ḥammām Fatḥī's, therefore attributing the date of construction to the 18th century. An addition, separated from the main building, was erected at a later date and was known as the "Bath of the Jews."

Stefan Weber indicates that, along with a neighboring house and a ẖān, this bathhouse had belonged to the waqf of ʾIsmāʿīl Pāšā al-ʿAẓm. It was under the management of Muḥammad Šafīq ibn ʿAbd al-Qādir ibn Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿAẓm back in 1898. Baroque murals were painted in the dome towards the end of the 19th or beginning of the 20th century.

Michel Écochard et Claude Le Cœur. Les bains de Damas: monographies architecturales. Institut Français de Damas 1942-1943. Imprimerie Catholique, Beyrouth.
Stefan Weber. Damascus, Ottoman Modernity and Urban Transformation. Proceedings of the Danish Institute in Damascus V 2009.