Covid-19 has imperilled the hammams of north Africa and the Levant

The name means “new bath”, and Yeni Hammam is indeed much newer than other bathhouses in Antakya, some of which date back to the Mamluks. Inside, the architecture is lofty and monumental. Customers strip off in the entrance hall, before beginning the ritual of steam, scrub and oil massage, progressing through three marble chambers of gradually increasing humidity. Light from star-shaped chinks in the domed ceilings filters through the vapour.

Historically, hammams fulfilled a practical function as communal washing facilities. They were a fixture of the Islamic urban landscape, built close to mosques and with similar architecture—a place to purify the body before focusing on the soul. Strictly segregated by gender, under Ottoman rule hammams became hubs for business, socialising and gossip. They were vital for women in times when they could not meet freely in public.

When governments forced hammams to close in 2020, the copper boilers simmered down and ran dry. Even between lockdowns, fear kept people away—especially the elderly, often among the most dedicated clients, having grown up with the tradition and benefiting most from assisted washing. Tourists vanished. Even the great hammams of Istanbul felt the pinch. Many operators feared the worst.

Legend has it that Cairo once boasted a hammam for each day of the year; today it has fewer than a dozen. Of the 50 in the ancient Medina of Tunis in the 19th century, only half cling on. In Damascus two-thirds have closed since the 1940s. A handful operate in the whole of Lebanon. In Turkey hammam culture remains strong, but the downturn is showing. Yeni Hammam is clean but crumbling. Amid the trickle of water, the eerie green hue of the peeling plaster suggests an underwater cave.

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