Excavations reveal remains of a Turkish bath in Aegean province

DENİZLİ - Anatolia News Agency

The remains of a Turkish bath dating back 1,500 years ago have been uncovered during the construction of a thermal tourism center in Denizli. AA photo

The remains of a 1,500-year-old thermal Turkish bath (hamam) have been uncovered during an excavation of a thermal tourism center in the Aegean province of Denizli. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Turkey’s Housing Development Administration (TOKI) is continuing an urban transformation for the thermal tourism center in the Karahayıt province of Denizli. The excavations in the settlement area started two months ago.

There were two different constructions found in the same area. One is a Turkish bath with circular architecture and the other is a thermal structure.

Governor Abdülkadir Demir, who was investigating the area, said that the constructions for the thermal tourism center planned for the Karahayıt region were continuing. There is an urban transformation project run by TOKI in this context. There is also an excavation taking place in the area for the saving of the historical artifacts found in the area.

A natural jacuzzi

Demir said that they had found very important traces in the excavations and added, “We never assumed we could find such a structure.It is a natural Jacuzzi from 1500 years ago. This structure can be counted as the initial plan of the thermal center we are planning to build. There are canals coming from the upper side. The thermal sources of Pamukkale and Karahayıt combine in this little pool and are distributed from here. There are also marble covered baths which are not usually seen. We are trying to build the structure that was built 1500 years ago. Now there is a thermal health center construction in Karahayıt.”