Historic Turkish bath listed on sale for $2 mln

ISTANBUL

An abandoned historic Ottoman-era Turkish bath in Istanbul's Fatih district has been put up for sale for $2 million.

The Ayakapı Bath, built in 1582 by renowned Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, is in danger of collapsing due to neglect.

The bath, which has a unique view of the Golden Horn, has been abandoned to its fate after being turned into private property in 1957.

The 442-year-old building was sold with the new zoning plan that came into effect in 1957. In the 1960s and 1970s, the building was used as a timber warehouse.

The upper part of the bathhouse is a dismal sight with shrubs, trees and damage to the roof, while the lower part is piled high with garbage, while the main entrance door is blocked with sandbags.

When it was put up for sale in 2022, the price was set at $2 million and the current price is the same.

Prominent historian Mehmet Dilbaz criticized the abandonment of this private property, stressing that cultural heritage should be protected with concrete steps.

"If this building is not repaired, it will collapse in 20-25 years at the most, and you will not have a chance to erect it after it collapses," Dilbaz said.

Saying that this building continued to be used as a bath until the 1940s, Dilbaz emphasized that the lumberjacks who settled around the bathhouse started to use the bathhouse as a lumber warehouse and that this caused a lot of damage to the historical structure.

"In 1960, when this building was being used as a warehouse, all the original frescoes and ornaments built by Mimar Sinan were still inside. Many of the precious pieces inside this bath were sold by the owners at the time. Then, of course, there is no trace of those decorations today," he concluded.