Hamamni Baths
Zanzibar, Tanzania
The Hamamni Baths are located in a neighborhood of the same name, in the center of Stone Town to the east of St. Joseph's Cathedral. Sultan Barghash ibn Sa’id (r. 1870-1888) commissioned the bathhouse, the first public one in Zanzibar, and it was constructed in the Persian style by the Iranian architect Haji Gulam Hussein. The bathhouse no longer functions, but has been restored and can be visited. The front rooms of the bath were used for changing, barbering, and socializing. A long hall leads to the warm room that has heated by underground hot-water aqueducts. Remaining rooms include hot and cold baths, toilets, private shaving areas, and a hexagonal pool and fountains. The original building also included an arcade and restaurant, but those sections have been converted to private residences.

Sources:

McIntyre, Chris, and Susan McIntyre. Zanzibar, 188-189. Chalfont St. Peter: Bradt Travel Guides, 2013.

Zamani Project. "Zanzibar." Accessed March 25, 2015. http://www.zamaniproject.org/index.php/zanzibar.html.

Zanzibar.cc. "Hamanmi Persian Baths." Accessed March 25, 2015. http://www.zanzibar.cc/stonetown.htm#hamamni.
Location
Zanzibar, Tanzania
Images & Videos
Associated Names
Events
late 19th century
Variant Names
Hammani Baths
Variant
Persian Baths
Alternate
Building Usages
baths