imported>JJMC89 bot III: Moving :Category:Mamluk architecture in the State of Palestine to :Category:Mamluk architecture in Palestine per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2025 March 28#State of Palestine

2025-04-05T06:03:51Z

Moving Category:Mamluk architecture in the State of Palestine to Category:Mamluk architecture in Palestine per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2025 March 28#State of Palestine

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{{Short description|Bathhouse in Gaza, Palestine}}

[[File:Hamam as-Sammara - 1920s.jpg|thumb|Hamam as-Sammara in late 1920s]]
'''Hamam al-Sammara''' ({{langx|ar|حمام السمرا}}, also spelled ''Hamaam as-Sumara''; transliteration: "the Bath of the Samaritans" or "the Brown Bath") was a [[hammam]] (traditional public bathhouse) in the [[Zeitoun, Gaza|Zeitoun Quarter]] of the [[Gaza City#Old City|Old City]] of Gaza, [[Palestine]]. It was situated {{convert|3|m|ft|sp=us}} below street level.<ref name="TWP">[[Laila el-Haddad|El-Haddad, Laila]] [http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=1985&ed=134&edid=134 Hammat al-Sammara/Hammam es-Samara/Sammara Public Baths] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907170107/http://www.thisweekinpalestine.com/details.php?id=1985&ed=134&edid=134 |date=2011-09-07 }} ''This Week in Palestine''. December 2006.</ref> It was owned by Salim Abdullah al-Wazeer.<ref name="PAPP"/> The bathhouse was destroyed by airstrike from Israeli forces in December 2023; at the time it was the only active hammam in Gaza.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/historic-1000-year-old-hamam-al-sammara-destroyed-israeli-bombing-gaza | title=1,000-year-old Hamam al-Sammara destroyed by Israeli bombing in Gaza }}</ref>

==History==
Although rumored to date back to pre-[[Islamic Caliphate|Islamic]] times in Gaza, a plaque in the lobby of the bathhouse proclaims that Hamam al-Sammara was restored in 1320 by the [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk]] governor of the city [[Sanjar al-Jawli]].<ref name="PAPP">[http://www.undp.ps/en/newsroom/publications/pdf/focus/04v1.pdf Hamam as-Sumara (Gaza)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070822051031/http://www.undp.ps/en/newsroom/publications/pdf/focus/04v1.pdf |date=2007-08-22 }} Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People. 2004, Volume I.</ref> It is the only hammam in Gaza, of the original five, that continues to function.<ref name="TWP"/> According to [[Theodore Edward Dowling|Theodore E. Dowling]] writing in 1913, in 1584, a [[Samaritan]] community existed in Gaza and possessed a large [[Synagogue#Samaritan synagogues|synagogue]] and two bathhouses. "One of them still bears the name "the Bath of the Samaritans". One of the governors of Gaza who belonged to the [[Ridwan dynasty]], desired to acquire the bathhouse, but the owner refused to sell it and the indignant governor had him hanged in front of the building. It is believed the Samaritans were expelled from the city before the turn of the 16th century.<ref>Dowling, 1913, pp.38-39.</ref>

The Wazeer family who owned Hamam as-Sammara decided to tear it down and construct a new building. However, they were faced with an ancient water heating system and traditional bathhouse that no longer functioned properly and which would be extremely costly to repair.<ref name="PAPP"/> Therefore, the [[Islamic University of Gaza]] and the [[United Nations Development Programme]] partly restored Hamam as-Sammara after it was nearly demolished due to rising costs of maintenance.<ref name="TWP"/> The bathhouse used an old system of wood-fueled ovens and aqueducts, and for this reason, the Wazeer family had been collecting funds to renovate the aqueducts beneath the buildings [[marble]] slabs.<ref name="PAPP"/>

==Structure and services==
Hamam as-Sammara consisted of several rooms with varied temperatures.<ref name="PAPP"/> Customers would first leave their belongings with the clerk, then proceed to the steam room, after which they bathe in warm water. Sprinklers shower cool water on bathers to prevent overheating, and canisters are provided for ladling water. The final stage involved wading in the ''maghtas'', a small pool filled with hot water, about a meter deep.<ref name="TWP"/> After bathing, customers would enter the room-temperature lounge. Massages were also available.<ref name="PAPP"/> Massages were undertaken by a ''mudalik'' (a professional "scrubber"), while the client soaked in the steam room.<ref name="TWP"/>

Bathhouses are used as a folk remedy for [[rheumatism]] and infertility, and it was customary for mothers to bring their 40-day-old infants to Hamam as-Sammara for a blessing. It had a social importance, especially to women, as a place where community members come together to socialize. Services were open to both men and women, but at different times of the day.<ref name="PAPP"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{Citation |title=Gaza: A City of Many Battles (from the family of Noah to the Present Day) |first=Theodore Edward |last=Dowling |url=https://archive.org/details/gazacityofmanyba00dowlrich/page/n7/mode/2up |publisher=Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge |year=1913 |isbn=0-7905-6990-6}}

{{Gaza City}}

{{coord missing|Gaza Strip}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1320]]
[[Category:Mamluk architecture in Palestine]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Gaza City]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Palestine]]
[[Category:Samaritan culture and history]]
[[Category:Zaytun Quarter]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures destroyed during the Israel–Hamas war]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 2023]]
[[Category:2023 disestablishments in Palestine]]
[[Category:Hammams]]

Hamam al-Sammara - Revision history

imported>JJMC89 bot III: Moving :Category:Mamluk architecture in the State of Palestine to :Category:Mamluk architecture in Palestine per Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2025 March 28#State of Palestine