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“Iran's historic bathhouses, where patrons are rinsed and massaged beneath graceful archways and tiled walls, may soon disappear as interest in them wanes. Some of the bathhouses, known as “hammams” in Persian, are centuries old. But business has declined as modern conveniences now allow showers and baths in most homes across the Islamic Republic. The few that remain, mostly in old neighborhoods, largely draw day laborers and travelers. “Nowadays, there are only three or four public bathhouses in Tehran”, says Mahdi Sajjadi, head of the Tehran bathhouse owners' association. In the old days, the bathhouses were more than just a place to clean up, shave or get a massage from a “dallak”, who uses a mitt to scrub and exfoliate a client's back. Then, people gathered in the humid air to discuss current events and debate ideas. Now, bathhouse owners like Gholam Ali Amirian, 70, who has spent four decades working in a hammam that is some 850 years old, fear the institution will dissipate like the steam from its heated pool. “Some 35 years ago, before the revolution, we had lots of customers”, Amirian says. “At 4 a.m., when I wanted to open the hammam, there were people already in a queue. Five people worked here and we had over 50 customers a day. But now we have three customers a day on average”. Sajjadi suggests the government could turn the bathhouses into tourist attractions by offering low-interest loans to owners to renovate their aging interiors. But so far, there's been no move to do that as the economic pressure grows”. – The Associated Press


In this Friday, January 9, 2015 photo, bathhouse worker Omid Riahi, 39, scrubs a man to remove dead skin, at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. The steamy air and curved tiled walls of Iran's famed public bathhouses, some rinsing and massaging patrons for hundreds of years, slowly may wash away as interest in them wanes. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this Friday, January 9, 2015 photo, bathhouse worker Omid Riahi, 39, scrubs a man to remove dead skin, at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. The steamy air and curved tiled walls of Iran's famed public bathhouses, some rinsing and massaging patrons for hundreds of years, slowly may wash away as interest in them wanes. The bathhouses, known as “hammams” in Persian, find themselves in rough financial times as modern conveniences now allow showers and baths in most homes across the Islamic Republic. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this Wednesday, October 15, 2014 photo, a group of men bathe at the Nezafat public bathhouse, in Tabriz, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this Wednesday, October 15, 2014 photo, a group of men bathe at the Nezafat public bathhouse, in Tabriz, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this October 15, 2014 photo, a man lies in a small pool at the Nezafat public bathhouse, in Tabriz, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this October 15, 2014 photo, a man lies in a small pool at the Nezafat public bathhouse, in Tabriz, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this Friday, January 9, 2015 photo, a group of workers bathe at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this Friday, January 9, 2015 photo, a group of workers bathe at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this January 9, 2015 photo, a man with Persian tattoos shaves at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this January 9, 2015 photo, a man with Persian tattoos shaves at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this Friday, November 21, 2014 photo, Heidar Javadi, 39, a bathhouse worker pours warm water on a man at the Setareh public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this Friday, November 21, 2014 photo, Heidar Javadi, 39, a bathhouse worker pours warm water on a man at the Setareh public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this November 21, 2014 photo, a man shaves at the Setareh public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this November 21, 2014 photo, a man shaves at the Setareh public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this January 9, 2015 photo, two young laborers bathe at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this January 9, 2015 photo, two young laborers bathe at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this October 15, 2014 photo, a group of men bathe at the Nezafat public bathhouse, in Tabriz, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this October 15, 2014 photo, a group of men bathe at the Nezafat public bathhouse, in Tabriz, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this Friday, November 21, 2014 photo, bathhouse workers Reza Bagheri, 75, and Heidar Javadi, 39, help two men to bathe at the Setareh public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this Friday, November 21, 2014 photo, bathhouse workers Reza Bagheri, 75, and Heidar Javadi, 39, help two men to bathe at the Setareh public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this November 21, 2014 photo, bathhouse worker Ali Tayyeb, 70, scrubs a man to remove dead skin after sitting in a steamy room at a bathhouse in Yazd, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this November 21, 2014 photo, bathhouse worker Ali Tayyeb, 70, scrubs a man to remove dead skin after sitting in a steamy room at a bathhouse in Yazd, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this November 21, 2014 photo, Heidar Javadii, 39, a bathhouse worker, massages a man at the Setareh public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this November 21, 2014 photo, Heidar Javadii, 39, a bathhouse worker, massages a man at the Setareh public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this January 9, 2015 photo, patrons shower at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this January 9, 2015 photo, patrons shower at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this November 21, 2014 photo, Heidar Javadi, 39, a bathhouse worker, says prayers during a break, at the Setareh public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this November 21, 2014 photo, Heidar Javadi, 39, a bathhouse worker, says prayers during a break, at the Setareh public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this Friday, January 9, 2015 photo, a man shaves at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this Friday, January 9, 2015 photo, a man shaves at the Ghebleh public bathhouse, in Tehran, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this Friday, November 21 2014 photo, Ali Tayyeb, 70, a bathhouse worker, drys himself at the end of his workday, at the Islam public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this Friday, November 21 2014 photo, Ali Tayyeb, 70, a bathhouse worker, drys himself at the end of his workday, at the Islam public bathhouse, in Yazd, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)




In this October 15, 2014 photo, a customer relaxes after a bath at the Nezafat public bathhouse, in Tabriz, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

In this October 15, 2014 photo, a customer relaxes after a bath at the Nezafat public bathhouse, in Tabriz, Iran. (Photo by Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)
03 Apr 2015 12:40:00