The Bey Hamam, the oldest surviving Ottoman bathhouse in Thessaloniki and the largest Ottoman bath complex in Greece, has reopened to visitors following the completion of an extensive restoration project, the Culture Ministry announced.

The ministry invested €1.5 million in the works as part of its broader programme to preserve and promote Thessaloniki’s cultural heritage, according to tovima.com

Also known as the “Paradise Baths”, the monument was built in 1444 by Sultan Murad II after the Ottoman conquest of the city, becoming the first public building constructed during Ottoman rule. For more than five centuries, it served as a central gathering place for the city’s social and commercial life. After ceasing operations as a bathhouse in 1968, it was later repurposed as an exhibition venue.

The restored monument is now fully accessible and will host exhibitions, educational programmes and other cultural events, while highlighting Thessaloniki’s diverse historical legacy.

Speaking at the inauguration, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said the restoration forms part of the largest monument conservation programme undertaken in Thessaloniki in recent decades.

“We are investing in showcasing the city’s multi-layered historical identity, creating cultural routes that connect its Byzantine, Ottoman and modern monuments into a single cultural landscape,” she said.

She added that the goal is for “monuments to regain life, become accessible and familiar to citizens, and function as living spaces of culture, knowledge and creativity.”

Source: Greekherald.com.au