Hamam Ibrahim
The bathhouse is located in the Al-Dariah neighborhood near Khan Al-Khalil. It is one of the important endowment and archaeological properties in the city. It is considered one of the oldest Islamic bathhouses in Palestine. It was established in the Mamluk era by order of Prince Alaeddin Igdadi (1266-1294 AD), who personally participated in the process of laying the first foundations for it with workers, engineers, and craftsmen, and the area of the bathhouse is estimated at more than 450 square meters. The bathhouse was supplied with water through several springs that used to provide the old town with water, such as the spring of Arab, spring of al-Summaqiyah, and others. The bathhouse had two wells to store the water needed to meet its needs.The original door to the bathhouse is located on its southwest side. Mamluk motifs consisting of Ablaq stone (stones built in rows of light yellow, red, and black), and muqarnas were used to decorate its front façade, giving the building a precise and geometric shape. The door leads to a corridor on either side, of which there are two benches for sitting, and at its end is a side entrance that leads into the bathhouse, providing the required privacy for the bathhouse users. Following the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000 A.D., the Israeli occupation closed the access to the bathhouse, so a back entrance to the bathhouse was created on its northern side in 2005 A.D
The Bathhouse Sections
The bathhouse consists of three main sections that differ in their function, and are graded in temperature from cold to moderate to hot, namely:
1- The external hall "Al-Barani" is a hall with a relatively cool temperature consisting of a rectangular courtyard roofed with a contract with pointed arches, topped by a hemispherical dome with small windows for lighting. The dome included many openings covered with plugs of colored glass that allowed the penetration of light and sunlight into the courtyard. In the middle of the hall is an octagonal water fountain, and its sides are surrounded by expansive terraces that are accessed by a stone staircase. It was furnished with sofas, cushions, and "Al-Mazawed" carpets for bathers to rest on, and it had a wooden railing on which towels were hung on. At the front of the terraces are small niches for placing bathing tools such as fiber, soap, and clogs. This hall was also used for rest, parties, sipping various drinks, smoking hookahs, and exchanging chats between bath visitors. The owner of the bathhouse, the master, used to sit on a bench called the master's bed, located next to the entrance to the bathhouse, to receive customers and put deposits and consignments in a wooden box divided into several sections. The customers take off their clothes when entering the bathhouse, and put on a special bathing suit, and the bather returns to him again after completing all bathhouse sections to put on their clean clothes.
2- The middle hall (Al-Wastani): It is a hall with moderate temperature and the smallest area of the external section, and the bather stays in it for some time to adapt to the temperature of the bath before entering the hall of the hot bath, and after leaving it. It is a rest station after taking a hot bath. Its floor is paved with stone sultanate tiles, and under it, there is a basement connected to the firehouse and the chimney to heat the hall and remove smoke outside the bathhouse. The gallery has a half-barrel roof with many openings closed with colored glass plugs. The lobby includes an iwan (cabin) where bathers rest during bathing periods or body massages. It also includes a section at the entrance to the middle hall, which was used for hair removal, and it has two faucets for cold and hot water.
3- The Hot/warm Hall "Al-Jawani": is an octagonal hall accessed through the middle hall through a narrow and low corridor to preserve its temperature. Its floor is tiled with colored royal marble (there is currently a modern opening in the middle), and its ceiling is vaulted. It has openings closed with colored glass plugs that allow the passage of light, adding a beautiful atmosphere that gives joy to the visitors. Sometimes these plugs are removed to ventilate the bathhouse. The hall contains three iwans (cabins) near the hearth, the "firehouse," and in each of them, there are one or more hot water basins connected to the water through a network of clay pipes, which are located under the floor of the bathhouse and on its sides. In this hall, the body goes into a process where it is rubbed and softened, and fumes rise in it as a result of the high temperature. The hall's corners also include four rooms that contain basins for washing, roofed with small domes, in which openings are closed with colored glass plugs.
4- The stove is the "Firehouse" or "Al Qimim": It is located east of the hot hall. It is an external section attached to the bathhouse. It has a special entrance, and a chimney to expel the smoke outside. It has copper utensils to heat the water. Wood and other flammable organic materials are used in it. The stove is connected to the hot and moderate hall by a network of channels and clay pipes that heat the water, and the bathhouse floor in the places required for that.
The Bathhouse Staff:
• The master: He is the owner or tenant of the bathhouse. He manages the bath house, and receives their personal belongings and the bath fee from the customer.
• The Concierge: He receives and serves customers in the Al-Barani and Al-Wastani sections, and acts on behalf of the master in his absence. He helps the customer take off their clothes, provides them with towels for bathing, and various drinks after finishing the shower.
• Al-Rayyes: His job is to help the customers to clean themselves with soap and water, and his work is limited inside the bathhouse.
• Al-Taba': He works in all parts of the bathhouse, cleans it, serves customers, washes their heads, prepares the cabins, and helps Al-Rayyes and the Concierge, and sometimes performs all the duties of the Concierge.
• Al-Qummimi: He is the one who sets the fire and heats the water in the stove And when the bathhouse is allocated for women, the work staff becomes composed of women, which includes the master, the Concierge, the Osta (representing the Rayyes for men), and the ballanah (representing Al-Taba' for men).
The closing of the bathhouse and the reopening
The old town of Hebron fell under Israeli occupation in 1967 A.D. The occupation pursued a policy of restricting its residents, forcing many of them to leave their homes. As a result of social and cultural change, and the tendency for modernity and development, public bathhouses were dispensed with in favor of private bathhouses in modern homes, and their economic feasibility declined due to the inability of the owners to cover operational costs, which led to the halting of the work of Ibrahim Al-Khalil Bathhouse, in the eighties of the twentieth century.
The Ibrahim Al-Khalil Bathhouse was reused as a museum after the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee restored it in 1997 A.D., in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. Still, it was closed in 2000 A.D. following the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada. The Israeli occupation closed the museum's main gate, assaulted and looted it by settlers, and converted its roof into a military barracks.
However, in 2014 A.D., the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee began to restore the building in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, and with funding from the Italian government to convert it into a visitor center in the Old City, after creating a back entrance to the bathhouse that connects with the main souq, and facilitates access to it.