Bey Hamam (Paradise Bathhouse)

About the museum

The Bey Hamam, also known as the “Paradise Bathhouse”, is the oldest bathhouse in Thessaloniki and the largest Ottoman bath complex in Greece, comparable only to similar complexes in the capitals of the Ottoman Empire itself. It was the first public building erected in the city after its final conquest by the Ottomans in 1430. According to the dedicatory inscription above the entrance, it was built in 1444 by Sultan Murad II.

It is a double bath, with separate sections for men and women, which extend independently along parallel axes without communicating with each other. The rooms of each section follow the traditional layout of baths, with a cold, a lukewarm and a hot compartment. In the cold rooms, later internal galleries with individual changing cubicles survive, while the interior spaces are crowned with domes of various sizes, with circular openings for light and ventilation. The decoration is notable: relief and embossed plaster decorations from the founding of the monument in the 15th century survive in part on the walls and at the base of the domes, while painted decoration from later phases is preserved in the cold and hot rooms of the men’s section and in the hot rooms of the women’s section.

In the 1930s a building with eclectic features, which housed shops, was added on the eastern side. After the incorporation of the city into the Greek state in 1912, the bathhouse passed into private hands and operated until 1968; in 1972 it was expropriated by the state. After full restoration, with conservation of the decoration, partial restoration of the roof and interior spaces, and new electromechanical and lighting systems, it opened to the public in 2026.

Highlights

• Double bathhouse with separate sections for men and women
• Dedicatory inscription of 1444 by Murad II
• Plaster relief decoration of the 15th century
• Domes with circular openings for light and ventilation
• Restoration and reopening in 2026

Operated by

Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού – Εφορεία Αρχαιοτήτων Πόλης Θεσσαλονίκης

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

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Getting there & parking

From Aristotelous Square the site is about 4 minutes on foot.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.