Tabaklar Hamamı, Bolu

Overview

On İzzet Baysal Caddesi in central Bolu, a cluster of low domes rises between shops. This is the Tabaklar Hamamı, the old bath of the tanners’ quarter. Our Bolu city tour stops here to see it from outside.

The Story of the Tabaklar Hamamı

Nobody knows exactly when or by whom the bath was built, but it dates from the 16th century. It belongs to the foundation of Sokullu Mehmet Paşa, and its income once supported a mosque that no longer survives.

What to See

It is a double bath, with a men’s and a women’s side; the women’s side is much smaller. The walls are of rubble stone with stone cornices. Today, only the cooling and hot rooms remain. The cooling and washing areas have vaults, while the hot rooms have domes, with small cells in the corners.

Repairs Over the Centuries

The bath needed many repairs. In the 20th century, the building was restored. However, the dressing room is gone, so today you see only the cooling and hot rooms. Researchers have also drawn the bath as it looked in 1863, so its old plan is known.

Who Was Sokullu Mehmet Paşa?

The foundation behind the bath carries the name of Sokullu Mehmet Paşa, an Ottoman grand vizier. In Istanbul, his wife Esmahan Sultan, a daughter of Selim II, built a mosque for him in 1571, and Mimar Sinan designed it. So a small bath in Bolu belongs to the same foundation story as one of Sinan’s Istanbul mosques. Also, the bath’s income once paid for a mosque here in Bolu, which no longer survives.

Also, the Tabaklar is not the oldest bath in town. Yıldırım Bayezid built a mosque and a bath in Bolu as early as the late 14th century, and the Büyük Cami stands on the site of his mosque. So the bathhouses of the center go back to the 14th century. Then, if you want a longer walk, Bolu itself goes back to Roman Claudiopolis, and the Bolu Museum shows finds from that city.

How to Visit the Tabaklar Hamamı

The bath is in the center of Bolu, a few minutes on foot from the Büyük Cami and the Bolu Museum. We plan your bath at the Tabaklar Hamamı on your Bolu day.

Would you like to see Bolu with a local guide? The bath of Sokullu Mehmet Paşa is on our Bolu city tour, between the museum and lunch; for the whole province, read our Bolu guide.