THERAN - A Qajar-era bathhouse in southern Iran has been officially registered on Iran’s national list of cultural heritage sites.

Hammam-e Goudi, located in the historic district of Shiraz, has been assigned the registration number 34147, marking a significant step in preserving the 19th-century structure.

This is the 87th historical bathhouse dating from the Safavid to early Pahlavi periods to be registered in Fars province, the provincial tourism chief Mohammad Sabet Eqlidi said.

The Goudi bathhouse, with its roots in the Qajar era, is a valuable cultural asset despite currently being unused, the official said.

Sabet Eqlidi noted that the bathhouse, which covers an area of approximately 600 square meters, features all the key elements of traditional Iranian bathhouses, including an entrance vestibule, changing room, intermediate space, hot chamber, reservoir, and sunken pool.

“The bathhouse is partly underground, with its roof rising about 2.5 meters above the surrounding street level, a design that helps regulate the internal temperature throughout the seasons.”

However, the bathhouse has suffered from various alterations and modern interventions over the years, leading to concerns about its structural stability, he explained.

Sabet Eqlidi emphasized the need for careful restoration to preserve its historical integrity and suggested that the bathhouse could be repurposed as a museum café and gallery to breathe new life into this cultural treasure.

Bathhouses or ‘hammams’ in Iran were not only places for bathing and cleaning up. They had a social concept for people who gathered at these places weekly. It was a place where people talked with each other about their daily life and shared humor and news. There are still bathhouses in Iranian cities but they do not have their social function anymore, since most people have bathrooms in their homes due to the modern lifestyle.

Persian literature is full of proverbs, narrations, and folk stories about bathhouses, which indicate the importance of the place in the past.

AM