Project Type : Conservation
Employer: Sapanca Municipality

Surface excavation was carried out under the supervision of the museum in accordance with the decision of the Conservation Board, in the parcel where the registered bath is located, registered in Sakarya Province, Sapanca District, Camicedit District, Island 125, Plot 13. As a result of the excavation, the foundations of the old bath were found. Meanwhile, the buildings on the same island adjacent to the parcel were expropriated by the Municipality. The bath, which has partially survived, is called the Rüstem Pasha Bath. There is information that the bath was built by Mimar Sinan for Rüstem Pasha. When the life of the Ottoman state grand vizier Rüstem Pasha (1500-1561) was examined, it was learned that Mimar Sinan (1489-1588) had a mosque, caravanserai, soup kitchen and bath built in Sapanca. It has been determined that these structures are also included in the list of Mimar Sinan structures. Drawings of the Rüstem Paşa Hamam were found in the archives of the Restorator Architect Ali Saim Ülgen, who made the survey drawings of most of Mimar Sinan's buildings. The survey drawings of the bath made by Ali Saim Ülgen in 1934 and the foundation remains unearthed after the excavation match each other. The construction date of the Rüstem Pasha Bath is not known in the sources. But if it is assumed that Rüstem Pasha had it built after his marriage to Mihrimah Sultan in 1539, it can be interpreted that it was built between 1544-1561. The fact that the bath structure also carries the characteristics of the 16th century bath architecture supports this view.