General Map

Arab Baths of La Marzuela (13th century)

Discover a 13th century Arab bath with restored rooms and starry vaults, a cultural jewel that offers a magical and unique atmosphere.

These are the public baths of the old suburb of Marzuela (Barrio de Santiago) linked to what was once its mosque (now the church of Santiago). Although they are usually known as the Arab Baths of the Jewish Quarter, which are luxurious and date from the 10th-11th centuries, the archaeological excavations carried out inside and an exhaustive documentary study of the neighbourhood in which they are located, both prior to their recent restoration, have disproved this theory. According to the data obtained in these excavations, the baths were founded in the Almohad period, in the 13th century. These were public baths in the old suburb of Marzuela (Barrio de Santiago) linked to the old mosque nearby (now the church of Santiago). In addition to the three previously preserved rooms: barid (cold room), wastani (warm room) and sajun (hot room), excavations have revealed other areas of the bath, such as the maslaj (vestibule), the furnace and boiler room, the woodshed, the main door, etc. In the first third of the 16th century, their use as public baths was abandoned and they were reused as a cellar, woodshed, pigsty or stable until the 1970s, when they were partially restored. The Arab Baths of Baza or the Marzuela were built in the Almohad period, around the 13th century, although some studies date them to the 11th century. The Arab Baths of Baza are located in the district that was once the Jewish quarter of the town, in the old suburb of Marzuela, now the district of Santiago.the roofs of the baths were covered with half-barrel vaults with skylights in the shape of six-pointed stars, some of which were covered with coloured glass, giving the place a magical atmosphere.these Arab baths are divided into several departments.- Al-bayt al-maslaj, which was accessed from the street. This room served as a vestibule, cloakroom or dressing room. It was the antechamber to the bath and here the bathers stripped off their clothes and received: towels, soap, sponge, wooden stilts so as not to burn their feet and a pair of wooden buckets - al-bayt al-barido, the cold room, was intended for bathers to rest and prepare for bathing and re-acclimatisation before leaving the building.- Al-bayt al-wastani, or the warm room, is the main room of the room and is surrounded by columns and topped by a skiffed vault with its corresponding hexagonal skylights. This steam room was used for massages, ointments, perfumes, etc. - Al-bayt al-sajun or hot room: this room was used for hot-water baths, where the heat was provided by a radiant floor. Underneath the hot room there was a combustion chamber and a woodshed room, where the boiler and fuel store were located. The Arab Baths of Bazason are one of the jewels of Bazason, and if you are visiting the Granada high plateau, don't miss the rich cultural heritage of our city.