Historical Cukur Bath Continues To Serve
The historical Cukur Bath, which survived the disaster in Kahramanmaraş, the epicenter of the earthquakes, continues to welcome its customers.
The bath, which is estimated to have been built in the 15th century during the Dulkadiroğulları Principality in the south of Kahramanmaraş Castle, was not damaged in the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes that occurred in Pazarcık and Elbistan districts on 6 February.
Çukur Hamam, one of the iconic places of the city center, started to host its customers once again with its ‘solid’ report, after the investigation by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change officials.
The bath, which was built under the soil floor, is still standing despite the destruction of dozens of buildings in the vicinity.
Hamam operator Sefer Bulut said that they are carrying out restoration work in the hammam, which they bought in 2012 with the build-operate-transfer model.
Stating that the property belongs to the Municipality, Bulut said, “The project was approved by the High Council for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage. We did not avoid any material by implementing the project exactly. We entered it as a repair, we made a restoration.
“THIS BUILDINGS ARE HERITAGE TO US FROM OUR ECDAD”
Bulut, who had experienced the Marmara Earthquake before, explained that he was at home on February 6 and said, “I came here that morning to see if there was any debris or collapse in the bathroom. I opened the doors, there was nothing. There is not the slightest crack or scratch on the plaster of the walls. Even the one we left in the evening. “The kettle was on the pipe. I saw you fall,” he said.
Pointing out that the bath, which was not affected by earthquakes, remained intact, Bulut said:
“There are people working in the wreckage, law enforcement officers, people working in the cemetery, and health professionals, and they constantly ask, ‘Is the Turkish bath open?’ They called. There is natural gas in this place and the gas was cut off in the area. We also heat the bath. Our priority is our employees, our police and our military. They are bathing. We are trying to serve. Such structures are from our ancestors. They have done justice to the time and our building is still standing.”
CUKUR BATH
It is estimated that the Çukur Bath, which has no inscription, was built at the end of the 15th century during the Dulkadiroğulları Principality. Consisting of four iwans and corner cells, the bath consists of a central space with a dome in the middle, iwans placed around it and corner private rooms.
