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Byzantine Bath (Thessaloniki)

BathingByzantine architecture in ThessalonikiByzantine bathsByzantine cultureByzantine secular architecture
Public baths in Greece
Βυζαντινά λουτρά Άνω Πόλης 1790
Βυζαντινά λουτρά Άνω Πόλης 1790

The Byzantine Bath of the Upper Town (Greek: Βυζαντινά Λουτρά Άνω Πόλης, Vyzantiná Loutrá Áno Pólis) in Thessaloniki is one of the few and best preserved of the Byzantine baths that have survived from the Byzantine period in Greece. It is located on the Theotokopoulou Street in the Upper Old Town of Thessaloniki.The baths date to the late 12th/early 13th century, and functioned continuously until 1940, when they shut down probably due to World War II and the German occupation of Greece. The Byzantine sources do not mention it, hence it is likely that it originally belonged to a monastery complex. In Ottoman times, it was known as Kule Hammam, i.e. "bath of the citadel".The bath's long use led to numerous alterations of the original structure over time. The original architecture follows the typical conventions of Roman baths. The original entrance in the south leads to the rectangular frigidarium rooms, which were used as dressing rooms. Then came two vaulted tepidarium rooms and finally two caldarium rooms. The latter were square in shape and featured hypocausts below the floor. One was covered by a dome supported by an octagonal base with eight windows, the other had a domed ceiling. To the north of the baths was the cistern that provided it with water, with a hearth beneath to warm it. In Byzantine times the building was alternately used by men and women, but in the Ottoman period the bath was divided into exclusively male and female sections, by blocking off each pair of rooms from each other.The bath was one of several in the city—the 14th-century writer Nikephoros Choumnos claims that Thessaloniki had more baths than inhabitants—but is the only surviving in Thessaloniki and the largest and most complete of the handful of Byzantine baths surviving elsewhere in Greece: five ruined public baths—two in Corinth, one in Sparta, one in Paramythia, one in Ioannina Castle—and one each in the monasteries of Kaisariani and Zoodochos Pigi.Although closed since 1940, the bath was subject to neglect and damage during the 1978 earthquakes, and only survived standing through heavy propping up by the 9th Ephorate of Byzantine Antiquities and the protection offered by an external metal sheet covering. In 1988, it was included among the Paleochristian and Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki on the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.Following four years of restoration work, the bath was re-opened to the public as a museum and cultural space in June 2015.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Byzantine Bath (Thessaloniki) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Byzantine Bath (Thessaloniki)
Θεοτοκοπούλου, Thessaloniki Municipal Unit Άνω Πόλη (3rd District of Thessaloniki)

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N 40.639583333333 ° E 22.952638888889 °
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Βυζαντινό Λουτρό (Κουλέ Χαμάμ)

Θεοτοκοπούλου
546 34 Thessaloniki Municipal Unit, Άνω Πόλη (3rd District of Thessaloniki)
Macedonia and Thrace, Greece
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Βυζαντινά λουτρά Άνω Πόλης 1790
Βυζαντινά λουτρά Άνω Πόλης 1790
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Upper Town (Thessaloniki)
Upper Town (Thessaloniki)

Thessaloniki's Upper Town called Ano Poli (Greek: Άνω Πόλη, [ˈano ˈpoli]) is the old town of Thessaloniki and is located around the city's acropolis north of the city center. The neighborhood is known for its well preserved Byzantine and Ottoman era structures and urban design and as a center for Thessaloniki's poets, intellectuals, and bohemians. Ano Poli is one of the most traditional areas in Thessaloniki. The area preserves much of the Byzantine and Ottoman era city design which was largely destroyed elsewhere in the city in the Great Fire of 1917. It is known for its small stone-paved streets, old squares, and houses in traditional Greek and Ottoman architecture. Ano Poli is the highest part of the city and is dominated by the city's acropolis, a Byzantine and Ottoman era fort known as the Eptapyrgio. What remains of the old city walls still surround Ano Poli and many Ottoman and Byzantine structures such as the church of Profitis Elias, the Church of Saint Nicholas Orphanos, the Taxiarches church, the Byzantine bath, the Church of Saint Catherine, the Vlatades Monastery, the Atatürk Museum, and the Alaca Imaret Mosque still stand in the neighborhood. Other landmarks include the buildings of Villa Moskof and Villa Varvara. During the Ottoman period Ano Poli was the main district for the Turks (Muslims) of the city while Greeks, western Europeans, and Jews lived below around the port. On clear days Mount Olympus, about 80 km (50 mi) away across the gulf, can also be seen towering the horizon.

Church of Prophet Elijah (Thessaloniki)
Church of Prophet Elijah (Thessaloniki)

The Church of Prophet Elijah (Greek: Ναός Προφήτη Ηλία, Naós Profíti Ilía) is a 14th-century church in Thessaloniki, Greece, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.The church is located in the upper quarter of the old city, and dates to the Palaiologan period, but its original dedication is unknown. In Ottoman times, it was known as the Saraylı Mosque (Palace Mosque or Court Mosque), and through a misinterpretation of this name came about its modern dedication to the Prophet Elijah. It has been traditionally identified as the katholikon of the Nea Moni monastery, built ca. 1360–1370 on the site of a former palace destroyed in 1342 by the Zealot uprising. Modern research, however, has cast doubt on this, since the Nea Moni continued to operate well into the Ottoman period, while the church of Prophet Elijah was converted into a mosque by Badrah Mustafa Pasha immediately after the city's capture in 1430. On the basis of its internal decoration, it has been suggested that the church was the katholikon of the important Akapniou Monastery.Its architectural style, a variant of cross-in-square church known as the "Athonite type", is unique in the city, and was always reserved for katholika of monasteries. The careful masonry, of alternating courses of bricks and white ashlar, is also unusual for Thessaloniki and its region; it is copied from Constantinopolitan architecture. Several of its architectural features have also been interpreted as set to create an ambient atmosphere directly connected with the type of worship, through the way natural light is distributed. Fragments of the church's original decoration survive in the form of wall paintings, fine examples of late Palaiologan art, which influenced later paintings in Serbia.