Turkish hammams and Afghan hammams are different entities. “In the former, men and women's bathing areas are attached. But Afghan hammams have separate sections for both genders. In Khist-i-Khopruk women were only allowed once a week.”
Moreover in comparison with Turkey, the Afghan hammams are very simple. “They do not contain much calligraphy or decorative elements. They are more utilitarian with less focus on decoratives,” she explained. The most interesting aspect Tanvi discovered during her research, was a book by Professor Cent livres. He wrote that the Khist-i-Khopruk was the only hammam with a mehraab in the bathing area.
“Mehraab is a prayer area for Muslims. Some believe prayer should not be done at the bathing area, because its not clean. But the mehraab within the Khist-i-Khopruk suggested that it was used for prayer. To confirm this we needed a local. So we found a hammami, (the person who owns the hammam) who was very old, in his 90s, and with great difficulty got him to talk. He told us the hammam actually contains two mehraabs. So we returned and located the other mehraab amongst the ruins near the hammam. It was a real discovery,” shared the author.
The purpose of the book, “is to share an interesting account of heritage that is on a verge of extinction.”
“This story also had to be told, because it is an example of how communities came together to restore an important part of their heritage,” shared Tanvi.