Turkish bath – Hamam (Chalidon)

Turkish bath – Hamam (Chalidon

The public baths called hamams are an old Ottoman tradition brought in Crete by the Ottomans from Minor Asia. According to the Koran, only the running water can purify the faithful. In the Islamic tradition, the physical hygiene is close connected to worship and meditation.

On Chalidon street in Chania there is a Roman bath with beautiful mosaic floors and near it, a Turkish bath. It is a building with many domes surrounded by a portico which was destroyed in 1943. It is built on the ruins of the Venetian cathedral of Santa Clara, which stood opposite of St Francis.

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