Yan Yan Bath

Yan Yan historical bath (گرمابه یان یان) is located near Kabir River and on the western side of Sardar Jangal Street in Khorramdarreh, Zanjan province. It was built in Qajar period and spans 210 square meters. According to the locals the bath was utilized as recently as 25 years ago although with the construction of fully equipped homes it gradually became obsolete. Since 2021 it has been renovated, renamed Ayral Complex and has been utilized as a traditional restaurant with many traditional Persian foods served there.

In Iranian culture, particularly during the Qajar era, bathing went beyond just a health and cleanliness issue. It also served as an opportunity for socialization amongst friends and an excuse for housewives to leave the home. At the time it was considered an avenue for entertainment and a bath could extend to anywhere between two to four hours. British explorer Edward Scott Waring who travelled through Iran and personally experienced a public bath wrote in his memoirs, “The baths in Persia are very magnificent, and you are admitted to the convenience of them for a trifling sum. They are in common use by every description of persons, and often afford a large fund of merriment to the unmarried persons who frequent them.”

The Yan Yan bath was a public bath open to both sexes albeit with different days or hours of usage for each. There are a number of explanations regarding its name. The most common one is that it comes from the Turkish word “yakmak” which means burn which in this case referenced the bath’s yearlong flow of warm water. Another possible explanation is that the word yan meant side and given that the street on which the bath was situated was long and narrow, people had to walk sideways when passing each other on it.

The bath itself was designed in the Safavid style albeit smaller. It has different sections such as the entrance vestibule, the foot washroom, the heating room, the utility room, the furnace and the cold and warm water reservoirs. Its location near a river is assumed to be to easily dispose of sewage in addition to utilizing the river’s water inside the premises.

Once inside, passing through the entrance vestibule, one reaches the changing area which contains benches for sitting our placing clothing. Further ahead is the area for washing one’s feet before entering a winding hallway leading to the heating room. Inside the heating room are both cold and warm water reservoirs and the room serves as the main area for washing one’s self. A furnace warmed the water and transferred it to the reservoir via clay pipes. 

The roof of the bath is built in the traditional design of a dome with openings containing colored glass which provided light to the facility.

On February 4, 2020 it was registered in the Iran National Heritage List with register number 32935.