The baths

Bukhara is a pearl of medieval architecture and history, the city of the formation of the Islamic religion, and in particular one of its most mystical currents – Sufism. 

In addition to monumental architectural structures such as mosques, madrassas and minarets, Bukhara is rich in civil architecture structures - baths, or hamams, as they are popularly called.

Since the Middle Ages, baths have been popular as a place of meetings, relaxation and sincere conversations. People came to the baths both for ablution and for a pleasant pastime with friends.

The baths of all cities were divided on a local basis into citywide, which were more often located near bazaars and quarterly, located inside city blocks (guzars). The baths were located not only among residential quarters, but also outside the city. In large cities, corner baths – “Hamam Kunjak” - were popular.

The most famous of the bazaar, citywide, baths were the Gavkusho Hamam, the Sarrafon Hamam and the Hajja Parso Hamam. The oldest of the bazaar baths is the Bozori Kord Hamam, which was built in the XVII century and is still functioning today. 

All baths have the same type of building layout, a one-story building with a dome, including a spacious lobby, rooms for clothes and one large bathing room. It is for this reason that the baths were divided by gender into women's and men's, or, in the baths there were strictly painted women's and men's days. 

The domes of the bath had numerous arches, and on top a small number of panjara - windows decorated with wood carvings. 

Today, two of the medieval baths are functioning: the women's Hamam Kunjak, located at the popular Kalyan minaret, and the men's Hamam Bozori Cord, located at the shopping domes “Toki Telpak Furushon” (domes where hats are sold). 

The hamam is open from Wednesday to Monday from 9:00 am to 15:00 pm.