Time Slowly Washing Away Iran’s Public Bathhouses

Photos by Ebrahim Noroozi

Iran’s historic bathhouses, where patrons are rinsed and massaged beneath graceful archways and tiled walls, may soon disappear as interest in them wanes.

Some of the bathhouses, known as “hammams” in Persian, are centuries old. But business has declined as modern conveniences now allow showers and baths in most homes across the Islamic Republic. The few that remain, mostly in old neighborhoods, largely draw day laborers and travelers.

“Nowadays, there are only three or four public bathhouses in Tehran,” says Mahdi Sajjadi, head of the Tehran bathhouse owners’ association.

In the old days, the bathhouses were more than just a place to clean up, shave or get a massage from a “dallak,” who uses a mitt to scrub and exfoliate a client’s back. Then, people gathered in the humid air to discuss current events and debate ideas.

Now, bathhouse owners like Gholam Ali Amirian, 70, who has spent four decades working in a hammam that is some 850 years old, fear the institution will dissipate like the steam from its heated pool.

“Some 35 years ago, before the revolution, we had lots of customers,” Amirian says. “At 4 a.m., when I wanted to open the hammam, there were people already in a queue. Five people worked here and we had over 50 customers a day. But now we have three customers a day on average.”

Sajjadi suggests the government could turn the bathhouses into tourist attractions by offering low-interest loans to owners to renovate their aging interiors. But so far, there’s been no move to do that as the economic pressure grows.

Here are a series of images by Associated Press photographer Ebrahim Noroozi from inside some of Iran’s remaining bathhouses.

---

Click on any image below to launch the gallery.

In this Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014 photo, a group of men bathe at the Nezafat public bathhouse, in Tabriz, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Oct. 15, 2014 photo, a man lies in a small pool at the Nezafat public bathhouse, in Tabriz, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Friday, Jan. 9, 2015 photo, a group of workers bathe at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Jan. 9, 2015 photo, a man with Persian tattoos shaves at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 photo, Heidar Javadi, 39, a bathhouse worker pours warm water on a man at the Setareh public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Nov. 21, 2014 photo, a man shaves at the Setareh public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Jan. 9, 2015 photo, two young laborers bathe at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Oct. 15, 2014 photo, a group of men bathe at the Nezafat public bathhouse, in Tabriz, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Friday, Nov. 21, 2014 photo, bathhouse workers Reza Bagheri, 75, and Heidar Javadi, 39, help two men to bathe at the Setareh public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Nov. 21, 2014 photo, bathhouse worker Ali Tayyeb, 70, scrubs a man to remove dead skin after sitting in a steamy room at a bathhouse in Yazd, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Friday, Jan. 9, 2015 photo, bathhouse worker Omid Riahi, 39, scrubs a man to remove dead skin, at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Nov. 21, 2014 photo, Heidar Javadii, 39, a bathhouse worker, massages a man at the Setareh public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Nov. 21, 2014 photo, a man bathes with the help of a bathhouse worker, at the Mohammadi public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Jan. 9, 2015 photo, patrons shower at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Nov. 21, 2014 photo, Heidar Javadi, 39, a bathhouse worker, says prayers during a break, at the Setareh public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Friday, Jan. 9, 2015 photo, a man shaves at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Friday, Nov. 21 2014 photo, Ali Tayyeb, 70, a bathhouse worker, drys himself at the end of his workday, at the Islam public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

In this Oct. 15, 2014 photo, a customer relaxes after a bath at the Nezafat public bathhouse, in Tabriz, Iran. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

---

 

See more photos by Ebrahim Noroozi 

 

Text from the AP news story, AP PHOTOS: Time slowly washing away Iran’s public bathhouses.

 

Follow Ebrahim Noroozi | Instagram:@ebrahimnoroozi  | Twitter: @EbrahimNoroozi1

 

Spotlight is the blog of AP Images, the world’s largest collection of historical and contemporary photos. AP Images provides instant access to AP’s iconic photos and adds new content every minute of every day from every corner of the world, making it an essential source of photos and graphics for professional image buyers and commercial customers.  Whether your needs are for editorial, commercial, or personal use, AP Images has the content and the expert sales team to fulfill your image requirements. Visit apimages.com to learn more.

 

Written content on this site is not created by the editorial department of AP, unless otherwise noted. 

 

 

AP Images on Twitter | AP Images on Facebook | AP Images on Google+