After 13 years of meticulous restoration work, the 500-year-old historic Zeyrek Çinili Hammam is returning to Istanbul as a significant cultural heritage site.
The district, Zeyrek, where the hammam is located, was previously designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the title "Historic Areas of Istanbul" and is now poised to grace the city with its ambiance that stretches to a hundred years ago.
Following the extensive restoration effort, Zeyrek Çinili Hammam has reopened its doors to the world, not only as a functional bathhouse but also as a museum featuring historic Byzantine cisterns, event spaces and lush garden areas, adding a remarkable touch to Istanbul's cultural and artistic landscape.
Simultaneously with the hammam's reopening, the Zeyrek Çinili Hammam Museum welcomes visitors on a historical journey spanning the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman eras. Offering an unforgettable bathhouse experience by preserving the Ottoman bathing rituals, Zeyrek Çinili Hammam will be fully operational in the early days of 2024.
To celebrate this momentous occasion, an exhibition titled "Healing Ruins" will take place within the entire hammam complex, featuring special new creations by artists from Türkiye and abroad. Through the "Healing Ruins" exhibition, visitors will have a unique opportunity to experience this significant cultural heritage site one last time before it is exclusively used as a bathhouse.
The revival of Zeyrek Çinili Hammam not only showcases the rich history of Istanbul but also promises to be a cultural beacon for locals and tourists alike, offering a glimpse into the city's illustrious past.
Inspired by a 13-year restoration journey, the exhibition embarks on a quest to unearth the layers of history and societal change witnessed during the discovery and repair of ruins. During a press preview, curator Anlam de Coster revealed the exhibition's title in English, a decision stemming from its triple meaning. She explained that the title, "Healing Ruins," invites viewers to contemplate not only the inherent healing properties of ruins but also the transformative potential of the act of restoring historical, societal and spiritual remnants.
The exhibition, with its unexpected message of "healing ruins can be destructive," aims to shed light on the arduous process of purification and cleansing within the hammam's context. Thus, the artworks within the exhibition beckon visitors into mental excavation sites. Some act as portals to otherworldly realms, delving into legends, rituals, symbols and ghosts. They particularly strive to convey the sensory experiences of the elemental relationship between fire, air, earth and water as experienced within the hammam.
Drawing from the dichotomies of heaven and hell, purification and sin, privacy and public space, good and evil, the exhibition unravels chaos within a disordered world in a compelling and sometimes spine-chilling manner. These works, entirely attuned to hammam rituals, infuse the experience with a mystical and ritualistic atmosphere, opening a wholly unique window into their microcosm.
The district of Zeyrek, home to the magnificent Çinili Hammam, holds a rich historical tapestry that dates back to the Byzantine era, long before the construction of the hammam itself. Notably, the 12th-century Pantokrator Monastery, one of the era's most significant complexes, and the dynastic mausoleum overlooking the Golden Horn were among the remarkable structures that once graced Zeyrek. The discovery of two Byzantine cisterns during excavations serves as a testament to the area's historical importance well before the Ottoman era.
The Çinili Hammam, an architectural marvel constructed by the renowned Mimar Sinan during the height of the Ottoman Empire's cultural splendor between 1530 and 1540, was commissioned by Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha, the admiral of the Ottoman Navy. This hammam, adorned with exquisite blue and white Iznik tiles, featured separate sections for men and women. Reflecting the societal norms of the time, the men's section boasted higher ceilings, while the women's area was designed with simplicity and lower ceilings.
The Çinili Hammam is one of the earliest examples where specially designed ceramic tiles, typically reserved for palaces, were extensively used in a public space. Its meticulous restoration, which preserved its original architecture and historical fabric, included the unveiling of hidden treasures, such as wall paintings dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries, which had been concealed beneath layers of plaster for over two centuries.
Furthermore, this complex houses the Zeyrek Çinili Hamam Museum, which mirrors the 500-year-old ambiance of the hammam while focusing on Ottoman bathing culture and rituals. During the restoration process, a poem etched onto the tiles was discovered, shedding light on the hammam culture.
The poem reads: "At break of day, when he left home, heading for the bathhouse; At every step, the dust thrown up became a thousand adoring lovers; His body is like pure silver, and a thousand naked bankrupts; Would have put the kese on their hand for the sake of his pure silver; The space within the bath-house is like Paradise; Even though its structure is of clay and brick; The handsome boys there are like the attendants in Heaven; The cloth wrappers are covered with the celestial blossoms."
Visitors to the complex can delve into the rich history of the region at the Zeyrek Çinili Hammam Museum, where artifacts from the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods unearthed during excavations supervised by the Istanbul Archaeological Museums during the restoration process are on display.
Designed by Atelier Brückner, one floor of the museum is dedicated to an exquisite collection of approximately 3,000 blue and white Iznik ceramic pieces that were discovered and preserved within the hammam during restoration and excavations. Detailed research revealed that more than 10,000 tiles featuring 37 unique patterns adorned the interior walls of the hammam before many of them were sold to private collectors and museums in Europe during the 19th century.
Visitors can embark on a journey to the 16th century through a digital interactive experience, allowing them to explore a 360-degree view of the hammam. The museum also features carefully curated exhibits, showcasing historical hammam objects such as towels, stones, precious metals and mother-of-pearl adorned wooden bath clogs known as "nalın." Additionally, visitors can view diagrams and models explaining the ingenious water and heating systems designed by Mimar Sinan for the hammam. Notably, the height of the "nalın" worn by women is a fascinating aspect, varying according to the hierarchy within the hammam. Those at the lowest rank would go barefoot.
The museum also houses Byzantine-era cisterns discovered during the restoration work. Visitors can explore these underground Byzantine cisterns, where it is believed that images of ships, possibly drawn by Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha's galley slaves or sailors, may have been etched onto the walls during the hammam's construction. Even after the hammam's restoration, these cisterns will continue to host site-specific installations by artists from various disciplines.
