hammam al-tanbali

Implementing the Hammamed-project, Oikodrom and their project-partners work on three specific hammams in three different countries.
Subsequently you can find the description of the neighbourhood Bab al Shariya and the Hammam al-tanbali.

Historic period:
18th Century,
Ottoman period
Neighbourhood:
Bab al-Shariya
Case study leader:
Prof. Dr. Dalila ElKerdany

Both hammams are located in the district of Bab al-Shariya, a historic neighbourhood adjacent to the Fatimid core (10th-12th Century CE) to its east, bordered by the remains of the Ayyubid fortified wall (12th-13th Century CE) to its north, and the two major commercial and transportation hubs, Maydan al-Ataba and Maydan Ramsis to its south and west consecutively. Two main thoroughfares, al-Sabban and Bab al-Bahr, cut our neighbourhood from east to west, establishing extremely vibrant corridors of wholesale and retail commerce as well as craft and small industries. Clusters of historical monuments flank Shari Bab al-Bahr, establishing visual anchors and linking the traditional town to the east with the modern city to the west.

Both hammams consist of the typical three-part socio-spatial structure: cold room/changing room (maslakh); warm room/resting room (bayt awwal); and hot room (bayt al-harara), including its subsidiary spaces, such as plunge pools (maghtas) and private washing cubicles (khilwas). For each hammam, a modest entrance adjoins one of the two main neighbourhood thoroughfares. The superstructure in the main introductory and changing space (maslakh) is typified by high ceiling with clearstory (shukhshikha) for light and ventilation purposes. Inner spaces of heated and steamy rooms, in contrast, are generally covered with domed and vaulted structures, following the typical cruciform plan of a central hall (sahn)-having a water fountain (fasqiya) at its geometrical centre - and four vaulted »iwans.« Domes covering the plunge pools are perforated by glazed rounded windows, which vary in size to accommodate light and ventilation requirements.

Not unlike the majority of hammams in Cairo (only three exceptions of twin hammams exist), both al-Tanbali and Bab al-Bahr are organised temporally to accommodate male and female clients, with »women's time« designated during the day and men in the evening. Since Hammam al-Tanbali has been closed for the past three years, Hammam Bab al-Bahr provides the main operational pattern, technical and managerial knowledge, as well as the building performance and environmental measures required for future development scenarios. The »intangible heritage« associated with hammam usage, such as the socio-economic profile of clients and its social significance, as well as its cultural and symbolic meaning, may be learned from both hammams; as fact in Bab al-Bahr, and as oral history in al-Tanbali. While owned by the Ministry of Awqaf (Religious Endowments), Hammam Bab al-Bahr has been included in the national »List of Monuments,« by the initiative of the family of »hammamin« who have run the business for more than three generations, in order to protect it from the risk of demolition. No attempts, however, has yet been made to either restore, or even survey its physical (including architectural and structural) conditions.

Al-Tanbali, on the other hand, remains one of the few hammam structures in Cairo that maintains most of its original structural and architectural features; that is, it did not suffer irreversible damage - it is also claimed to be one of the most elaborate architecturally of the existing hammams in Cairo. This state of affairs may be due to the fact that it had been in continuous use until 2002 when it was purchased by the Egyptian Antiquity Department, registered as »monument« and closed. Hammam al-Tanbali has, thus, been selected as an example of »tangible heritage« since its spatial organisation, heating system and many of its architectural features and decorative elements could be restored as part of a broader development scheme where alternative scenarios for the use or adaptive re-use may be introduced.