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The Bathhouse of the Winds (Λουτρό των Αέρηδων) is the last surviving public Turkish bath in Athens, Greece.
History of the Bathhouse of the Winds
The Bathhouse of the Winds, also known as the Aerides Bath and Hamam of Abid Efendi, dates back to the early Ottoman period, between the 15th and 17th centuries. It was one of only three Ottoman public baths remaining in Athens in the late 19th century, and is the last of its kind today.
Originally, the Bathhouse of the Winds was a single bath operating for men and women at different hours of the day. During the 1870s, it was renovated to consist of two separate wings so it could operate for both sexes simultaneously.
The bathhouse consisted of three main spaces: the changing rooms, the warm rooms, and the hot rooms. Bathers would moved gradually from the cooler to the hotter rooms to avoid exposure to extreme temperature variations.
The Bathhouse of the Winds functioned until 1965. It was later restored, and since 1999, it has been a branch of the Museum of Modern Greek Culture. It’s “devoted to the theme of historical views of bodily cleanliness, care, and beautification”.
Visiting the Bathhouse of the Winds
The Bathhouse of the Winds is open daily except Tuesdays. Admission is 2€ (as of September 2023). It’s located in the Plaka neighborhood just east of the Roman Agora.
Women’s Section
A visit to the bathhouse starts in the women’s section. It contains changing rooms and functioned as a reception area, a waiting area before the bath, and a place to relax after the bath.
Some of the changing rooms are decorated with objects that would have been used by bathers. During my visit, one room contained items dedicated to the sewing industry, including an original Singer sewing machine made in 1925 and a woman’s blouse from the early 20th century.
The women’s dressing room leads to the bathing sections. First is the small tepidarium (warm room) followed by the larger caldarium (hot room). A section of the floor in the caldarium has been opened to expose the heating elements from the furnace beneath the building.
Men’s Section
In the men’s section, the layout is similar. There are changing rooms and it had a similar function as the women’s section. A corridor leads to the toilets.
After the toilets is the men’s tepidarium, which is notably larger than the women’s tepidarium. On display are a few artifacts related to bathing. They include a late 19th century hamam bowl depicting Hagia Sophia. As in the women’s caldarium, a section of the floor has been opened to expose the heating elements from the furnace beneath the building. A private men’s tepidarium sits next door.
The final room in the men’s section is the hot room. It’s much smaller than the women’s hot room. If you look up, you can see the skylights in the dome.
Vryssaki Exhibit
During my visit, the upper floor of the Bathhouse of the Winds contained a temporary exhibit about Vryssaki. Vryssaki was the neighborhood that sat atop the site of ancient Agora of Athens. It consisted of one and two-storey Neoclassical houses, churches, shops, and squares.
In the early 1930s, the entire neighborhood was expropriated to allow the American School of Classical Studies at Athens to excavate the Agora. Vryssaki has now been lost to history. Once the new Museum of Modern Greek Culture is complete, the exhibit will be permanently exhibited there.
