The Bey Hamam, the largest and most significant Ottoman bathhouse complex in the Balkans, has reopened following a two-year, 1.5-million-euro restoration that has transformed the 15th-century monument into a modern cultural hub.
Built in 1444 on the orders of Sultan Murad II, the building — long known to locals as the "Paradise Baths" — was the first public structure erected after the Ottoman conquest of Thessaloniki in 1430. It operated continuously as a working bathhouse until 1968, before being expropriated by the Greek state in 1972.
The restoration, launched in November 2022 by the Ephorate of Antiquities of the City of Thessaloniki and funded through the European Union's Recovery and Resilience Facility, involved extensive structural repairs to the internal chambers and roof, the preservation of rare sculpted and painted decoration, and the installation of modern climate control and architectural lighting.
"When a monument is integrated into social life and embraced by citizens, it is inherently better protected," Culture Minister Lina Mendoni said at the handover ceremony, adding that the ministry is running its largest-ever cultural infrastructure campaign in the city, focused on Byzantine and Ottoman sites that showcase Thessaloniki's layered, multicultural history through linked heritage routes.
Tania Protopsalti, head of the city's Ephorate of Antiquities, said the restoration secures a vital piece of regional heritage and allows the monument to reclaim its historic role as a public gathering place. Thessaloniki Mayor Stelios Angeloudis said the revived structure captures the continuity of a city built across centuries of overlapping civilizations.