Vakil Bath
The most famous Bath in ancient Shiraz city which is one of the Karim Khan Zand monuments built by his order in the Shah Square neighborhood is Vakil Bath, It is registered on Iran National Heritage list. This structure is famous for its aesthetic beauties that force its visitors to walk with their heads held high above because the ceiling is much more impressive.
Description
This ancient Bath is an old public bath in Shiraz built by the founder of the Zand Dynasty, Karim Khan (1705–1779). The bath consisted of a changing room, a main hall, and a chamber with a cistern of warm water and a cistern of cold water. The main hall of the bath features limestone reliefs depicting various cultural and religious scenes.
The bath also had a section designated for the king called shah-neshin (where the king sits). Vakil Bath has been turned into a museum, which houses wax figures. This bath is now being used as a museum which is located in the vicinity of Vakil Bazaar, Vakil Mosque and Karim Khan Citadel, some of the main attractions of Shiraz.
History
During the re-start of Karim Khan Zand, Karim Khan King was built several buildings that were later called the Vakil Complex. This complex consists of a mosque, a bazaar, a bath and a citadel, all in the Darb-e Shahzadeh region. In this bathroom you can see ancient artwork that is distinguished by a great dignity and magnificence that is bimpossible to find in other historic baths.
One special fact about ancient baths that should be noted here is that they were not just normal baths for cleansing the body. The other function they used to have was to be a place for particular ceremonies like baby shower, marriage proposals, and other old marriage traditions.
Architecture of Vakil Bath
The structure of bath is built of brick, gypsum mortar and stone. The entrance portal on the north of the bathroom is a low doorway connecting to an anteroom with a slight slope. This technique along with the angled entrance of the rooms were brilliantly applied to trap the heat inside.
The anteroom, decorated with arabesque patterns, leads to a chamber which used to be a dressing hall. This octagonal room holds eight monolithic stone columns supporting the vault. The walls are decorated with stucco molding in floral and geometric patterns. There is a big pool in the middle and the empty spaces around it were used to hold shoes.
Opening hours
This bath is open for visitors in spring, summer time from 08.30 am to 20.30 pm and in autumn, winter time from 07.30 am to 19.30 pm (every day). This is not a turkish hammam; in this hamam you will find its own culture and you can take the most beautiful pictures.