Han Hamamı

Han Hamamı is on Nur Caddesi in the Muştakbaba neighbourhood of Bitlis's central district. Also known as Şerefiye Hamamı, the building belongs to the Şerefiye Külliyesi (Şerefiye complex) founded by Şeref Han IV, Emir of Bitlis; its endowment deed shows that the hammam, too, was built by Şeref Han IV. According to the inscription over the gate, the complex was built in 1529.
The complex, with its mosque, madrasa and tomb, was founded in the city centre where the Kışla and Hasor streams meet; the hammam, however, stands apart from these buildings on the main street. Built as a single hammam (one bathing section rather than separate sections for women and men), the building has an irregular plan: from the domed changing hall you pass into the warm room, and from there into the hot room, which has a central dome, four iwans and domed halvet cells (small private hot rooms) at its corners. The walls are of neatly dressed cut stone, and the furnace and water tank are to the south-east of the building.
The Bitlis Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism states that, of the historic hammams in the city centre, only Han Hamamı and the 16th-century Paşa Hamamı have survived. Han Hamamı is still used for bathing today and is one of the places keeping the city's hammam tradition alive.
The hammam is open every day from 05.00 until midnight. It is worth calling before you go to ask about days or hours set aside for women and about services such as kese (exfoliating scrub).