Hammam al Jadid

Built by Asad Pasha Al-Azm of Damascus at the south entrance of the city, this stunning public bath is called the New Bath because it’s only 275 years old. It was still in use as late as the 1970s. As the largest hammam in Tripoli, in the North, it has an arched entrance with a zigzag and fleur-de-lis, a stylized decorative lily flower, sculptured relief inspired by earlier Crusader and Mamluk motifs. No expense was spared in building Hammam al Jadid, so eager was the pasha to please the city. Above the commemorative inscription set into the lintel, or horizontal support, is a stalactite cornice, which is a horizontal decorative molding that crowns a building, and a half-dome ceiling. A 14-link chain in two loops, carved out of a single stone block, is suspended under the top of the arch, while inside, glass roundels, or circular forms, in the dome roof let a sensual, dusky light down onto the marble-clad floor and fountains.