Medieval and Ottoman Baths of Kato Paphos

The Medieval and Ottoman Baths of Kato Paphos are located in the homonymous city, next to the church of Panagia Chrysopolitissa and the Saint Paul’s Pillar.

Being one of the many cultural attractions in the homonymous province, the Medieval and Ottoman Baths of Kato Paphos are buildings that combine the functionality and building elements of the Roman thermae and the Byzantine baths, encompassing the Arabic and Turkish Hammam tradition.

The building was part of a larger complex of the medieval period, which underwent some modifications during the Ottoman period, and is a typical composition of cold, warm and hot rooms, from which visitors pass consecutively. Its present form includes two hot rooms with a dome an two smaller cold rooms with vaulted ceilings, left and right of the entrance.

The heating mode was similar to the one used in the ancient Roman baths, according to which the floor was heated with the following system: A fire was burning in a built semi-outdoor fireplace outside the baths and heated the water in the boiler, carrying the heat and the smoke under the elevated floor of the hot rooms, which was made of large stone slabs resting on low struts. The smoke escaped to the roof through built-in chimneys in the thick walls.

Today there are still parts of the raised floor visible in the warm rooms, while on the walls are visible the traces of the taps of cold and hot water that used to run in small troughs for the clients’ washing.

The hottest room is the closest to the fireplace and was the main sweating area, with the water falling on the heated floor evaporating, creating steam. The rooms of the bathroom had no windows, but they were illuminated by small holes in the roof covered with round, thick glasses. The two small rectangular rooms to the left of the entrance were used as dressing rooms or shaving and waxing rooms.

The Medieval and Ottoman Baths of Kato Paphos have been restored by the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus, while visitors can also visit the Ottoman Baths of Paphos, below Petrakis Miltiadou Street and very close to the Municipal Market of Paphos.