TEHRAN - Once a hammam (public bathhouse) in the town of Jajarm, northeast Iran, the monument has lost its original usage as pile water is ubiquitous in almost every corner of the ancient land. The bathhouse is now an anthropological and cultural heritage museum depicting scenes of the lives of people in the past.

Covering 700 square meters in area, the bathhouse stands adjacent to an ancient fort in the historical texture of the town that is situated in North Khorasan province.

Wax figures, centuries-old objects, and personal belongings, as well as the various architecture of the bathhouse, which was traditionally a place for socializing, where people talked with each other about their daily life, and shared rumors and news.

Some cities had separate bathhouses for men and women. They were usually built next to each other. However, there were some bathhouses, which were used by men and women at different times of the day.

There were also male and female public bathhouses; at daybreak, a longhorn (booq-e javaz) was blown to announce that the bath was ready. Men came to the baths from daybreak till the afternoon. Women could use the bathhouses since then to sunset. In some cases, five days were allocated to men and two days to women.

AFM/MG