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Bathroom Kornasian is from the Qajar Period and is located in Dezful, south of the Kornasian neighborhood. This work is listed in the National Iranian Art Series with number 8477     International Journal of Engineering Science Invention ISSN (Online): 2319 – 6734, ISSN (Print): 2319 – 6726 www.ijesi.org ||Volume 4 Issue 8|| August 2015 || PP.51-60

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Bathroom Physical Features of Iran in Qajar Era

Hamidreza Saremi, Rana Gorji  1Professor Department of Art and Architecture, Tarbiyat Modares University, Tehran, Iran 2Department of Architectural, Boroujerd branch, Islamic Azad University, Boroujerd, Iran

Abstract : Bathhouses were of the most important buildings of a city. They were usually located at the center of towns or near the bazars and main roads. From the pre-Islamic era the remainders of private bathrooms were discovered in Persepolis (Achaemenian era) and Assyrian Palace (Parthian era). But the development of the traditional bathhouses, that were used until the time before the modern urban piping emerge, date back to the Islamic era. Since bathing includes several steps, therefore Iranian traditional bathhouses had spaces with different functions. In this research, study architecture of bathrooms in Qajar era. The research method is documental. In order to collecting data, was referred to organizations such as cultural heritage. Also, was used internet and library. Finding shows, Iranian bathrooms were made very cleverly and had a variety of spaces fitting perfectly with its functions. Iranian baths were built very intelligently. They built the bathrooms with convoluted corridor between corridor and the entrance of the bathroom to adjust the temperature difference of outside and inside. The interior of the warm house was divided into several place for cleaning and pools. There were three pools; one for warm water, other for cool water and the last for latter water. Bathrooms were association place as well as the market in addition to certain operations. Important events such as henna ceremony, wedding shower, delivery, and etc. have also been done there.

Key word : Public bathroom, Iranian architecture, Qajar era

I. Introduction The public bathhouses are included in buildings as public utilities that have been expanded throughout Islamic realm by arising Islamic religion that cleaning is the preamble for most of its rites. Unfortunately, from the beginning of Islamic period until 8th hegira century (15th AD century) no stable sample of public bathhouses remained in Iran, but many public bathhouses have still remained from Safavid and especially from Qajar era all over Iran. Architecture bathroom like other old buildings follow of specified spatial patterns. Access to water, maintain separate and clean and dirty areas, the original three conditions was for created complex and different spatial with other building in Building bath (Ghobadian, 2006:87). As regards limitations like area ,land limit and also used some decorative elements and architecture and various forms of spaces has caused to changed in the historical bathroom and caused not exactly the same, so don’t have two bath but studies show that even take to in consideration this principle that in many case in this building architecture that has followed special principle but the stage of different design and build them have done with consideration climate and natural environment condition and climate had more efficient in this building formation. While maintaining the principles and General pattern of architecture in Bath special in the type and arrangement of spaces in different conditional climate and natural can be seen in the building of baths (Kasmaei, 2006: 61). Bathhouses were of the most important buildings of a city. They were usually located at the center of towns or near the bazars and main roads. From the pre-Islamic era the remainders of private bathrooms were discovered in Persepolis (Achaemenian era) and Assyrian Palace (Parthian era). But the development of the traditional bathhouses, that were used until the time before the modern urban piping emerge, date back to the Islamic era. Since bathing includes several steps, therefore Iranian traditional bathhouses had spaces with different functions. In this respect the spaces in a bathhouse can be divided into three parts:  1-semi hot and semi humid  2- Hot and humid  3-very hot and very humid (Ghobadian, 2006). The controlling system of the bathhouse was in a way that the heat and moisture enters from the Entrance vestibule and changing room (semi hot and semi humid) to the hall and bathhouse (hot and humid) and finally would reach to its maximum level in Khazineh (very hot and humid). Therefore these spaces were independent and they were only connected through indirect tunnels or vestibules. Investigations of the section of old bathhouses show that the ceiling of these places were high and were caped by a dome (Kolombe, Tarkin, Karbandi, and Araghchin). Changing room dome was the main dome of the

Bathroom Physical Features…

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bathhouse that is the main hall of the bathhouse and the smaller domes belong to the other spaces. Although the dome cover is one of the characteristics of Iranian architecture in terms of the structure of models for ceilings and openings, the height and dome-like ceilings were used for other reasons that originate from the function of such buildings. The skylight service, generally, was provided through the ceiling and with the help of an element called “Jamkhaneh” that was glass, and a material called “moine” (a combination of washed wool, oil, and clay) was used for sticking the glass and the clay. In addition to these items, we should mention the circuitous tunnels that would prevent the outside air and dust into the bathhouse (Najafi, 2009: 8).

II. Theoretical Principle Bathhouses existed prior to the Islamic period in the Iranian cultural area. However, their number seems to have been limited due to the Zoroastrian religion’s reverence for the holy element of water. This may explain why Yāqūt (, quoting the authority of an Arab physician, states that the Sasanians did not know the use of baths. Nevertheless, archeological finds in Ḵᵛārazm, for example, show the existence of cellars under houses, which were cooled by water basins in which the inhabitants may have bathed, though these cellars could be simple sardābs (Spuler, p. 286; Le Strange, p. 337). Other sources also confirm the existence of baths in preIslamic Iran. For example, King Vologeses (484-88) incurred the wrath of the Zoroastrian priests by building public baths, for in this way people would pollute the holy element, water. Kavād (488-531), after having enjoyed a bath in Amida after his conquest of that city, ordered the construction of such baths throughout his empire (Mez, p. 365). Finally, Ferdowsī relates that Ḵosrow II Parvēz (d. 628), prior to his assassination, took a bath (BAZIN, 1979: 143). This evidence indicates that Yāqūt was probably only partly right. Islamic Iran, medieval period. With the conversion of the population of Iran to Islam, ritual purity (ṭaḥārat, q.v.), e.g., through washing one’s body (ḡosl and wożūʾ), became a requirement of religious life. Thenceforth bathing became an integral part of life. Besides, baths were frequented not only for purity and hygienic reasons, but also for medical purposes. Physicians prescribed taking the waters against a great variety of ailments.  Baths, as part of charity buildings, have been of particular importance and often accompanied great mosques, schools, and bazaars. The constructors of these baths were governors, the nobles, and charitable people who constructed them for charity and public utility though some might have built for business. The former group, often, endowed the buildings to religious institutes or charitable deeds. On the other hand, baths have been among the most significant elements of urban and rural organizations which, like other urban architecture types, their presence in the texture of the cities is not haphazard and random. In other words, baths were usually built at the center of the cities, center of the neighborhoods, or close to bazaar or the main pathways so as to make them more accessible to people. Also, because of their location in the urban texture and the users, baths had various functions. For instance, baths located in bazaar were for men's use or the biggest, the most luxurious, and the best baths of a town were built at the center of the city, or baths in the smaller neighborhoods were usually smaller and simpler, thus offering little service to the users. Public baths are usually composed of different elements, allowing users do various phases and processes of bathing along with others tasks. Some of these elements are central to the baths, which are common in almost all public baths, and some are special ones existent in some baths depending on the type of their functions. In general, shared locations and elements in all baths and the planning include: portal, vestibule, Sarbinā, Mian dar (the space between Sarbinā and hot-house), hot house, and reservoir(s) in the hot-house. Other spaces and rooms, including small bath, Chal howz (pool), toilets, Nooreh keshkhaneh (shaving room), and alcoves are absent In many baths. In addition, foundations spaces, like kiln, fuel room, channels and chimneys for Transmitting heat and smoke, Gav row (cowway), well, water reservoir, and sewage are other major elements of baths. Often, required water was provided from the streams, aqueducts, or wells. However, wells were the most important source for providing water for public buildings in a lot of cities (Abd-Al-Sattar Osman, 1376: 264). The procedures for providing and storing water was first, water was elicited making use of animal, then it was directed toward a basin or water tank usually located on the roof, and later it was transferred into water reservoirs via barrel drains, under the pressure of the height. The water was also heated by kilns, which were below or behind the Ton (water reservoir)(Pirnia, 1378: 199).Since, in the past it was not possible to directly heat the building, heating system was designed in a way that the fire heat and smoke were spread all over the floor through canals built at the bottom and then sent out through the sideway chimneys (Ahmadi & Mo’taghed,1384: 256). Water distribution in different spots of the bath was also carried out by the pressure caused by the difference between the bottom of the bath and the bottom of the water reservoir on the roof. At the floor of the tank, there were a number of routes each of which provided required water for a few pools in the bath. Each route was blinded by a sphere-shaped cap. Toontap, person in charge of firing the kilns, who was aware of the direction of these routes, took the caps off, when necessary, to fill up the relevant pool (Tabasi, 1386: 156).After Isfahan was selected as the capital of Safavid, a number of baths were built in the city which were larger compared to the ones constructed in the previous era, introducing anew style to the architecture of

Become the Museum of Anthropology in Dezful
The Kornasian Bathroom was renamed in 2006 by the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization of Iran and is now known as the Museum of Anthropology in Dezful.

Fire in the bathroom
The Kornasian Bathroom was once set on fire on Monday, March 28, 2016, and the Dezful County Fire Department's chief executive declared it a technical problem in the electricity system. Also Abdolhossein Moazamfar He said the fire had not spread to the interior of the historic bath Kornasian Bathroom has suffered smoke and power outages in the fire as experts in the electrical department are investigating the issue and assessing the damage. And finally, after 5 days on April 2, 2016, the bathroom reopens

Other names
This monument was also known in the past by other names such as the Haj Nasir bathroom and the New bathroom

Reasons for naming
The reason for the renaming of the Haj Nasir bath into the Kornasian Bathroom was that the nomads who migrated from the Korna Mountains to the area later became their place of residence. The same name is also known