Before the Hurrem Sultan Hamam

????????Long before the Hurrem Sultan Hamam came into existence, the same grounds were occupied by a much larger Roman bathhouse called Zeuxippus. Sinan, the Architect, and Sultan Suleiman had this distinctive way of expressing imperial urbanism with constant analepsis of the collective consciousness derived from the antiquity to the Eastern Roman era- that is why the Hurrem Sultan Hamam is located on top of the ruins of an old Roman bath house.

???????????????The name Zeuxippus is covered by mystery: some indicate that there was a Zeus Hippios temple before the bathhouse at the exact location; some believe that Hercules tamed the Diomedean Horses here under the order of Zeus. There is another theory binding the name to a non-recorded Byzantium king of the past. The classical view dates the Zeuxippus back to the Septimus Severus era, but this is a debated subject as well, as the bathhouse carries late 3rd-age characteristics. The place not only served as a bathhouse, but it has been a part of the Imperial accession ceremony. This place witnessed heated religious debates; a gymnasium, an art gallery, and even some imperial family members were judged and imprisoned there. The building is believed to be ruined during the famed Nika riots and reconstructed by order of Justinianus. After the Great Palace fell into neglect and lost its splendor, the bathhouse lost to the test of time – until it was re-made by the brilliant Sinan.

???????????????So, when you are on your way to the Hurrem Sultan Hamam, remember that under the 476 years of history, many mysteries go back to the first century AD. You are about to follow the footsteps of Caesars and Saints, and then Sultans and Viziers to immense experience, splendor, and grandeur at the same mystical place described by the Christodoros of Coptos in his Ekphrasis.