Description of the attraction
The oldest and one of the most interesting districts of Granada, Albayzín is an unusual and mysterious place, getting into which you get the feeling that time stands still here. Once densely populated by the Moors, Albayzin was the center of flourishing Moorish culture. Until now, much here reminds of those times. In Albayzin, more than anywhere else, traces of the long stay of Muslims and their culture have been preserved. Many architectural buildings are very well preserved, among which the ancient Moorish baths of El Banyuelo deserve special interest.
The El Banyuelo Baths, built in the 11th century under King Badis ibn Habas of the Zirid dynasty, are the oldest in Spain. Baths are a structure of stone with high vaulted ceilings, made in the form of domes in the Arabian style. The interior is replete with columns in the Romanesque and Visigothic styles, decorated with massive capitals.
Traditionally, Arab baths were supposed to have three or four rooms. In the Moorish baths of El Bagnuello, the first room - rectangular in shape, in which there were baths with cold water, was replaced by a second, huge square room, in which baths filled with warm water were located. And, finally, the third room, rectangular like the first, was the main bath, in which hot water baths were placed.
The baths in El Bagnuelo had a marble floor, walls were plastered and painted, and a vaulted ceiling was cut with holes to simulate the starry sky and provide excellent ventilation to the room.
In 1918, the Moorish baths of El Banyuelo were declared a national monument.
