The Chifte Hammam

This bath is located in the middle of the Skopje Bazaar, between the Murat Pasha Mosque and the Suli Lodging, to be exact. Alongside these two buildings, they remain the only "Islamic trio" in the area of the bazaar and in Skopje in general. The Islamic Trinities were a building complexes in the Ottoman cities, consisting of three public buildings: lodgings (caravanserais) for overnight stays, mosques for religious rites, and hammams for hygiene. The Chifre-Amam was built in the middle of the XV century by Isa Bey and left as a legacy for the needs of his consecrated buildings in Skopje, the medres and the tekke (dervish lodge). The building has a great architectural value that cannot show off its glory since it is almost completely surrounded by shops, as it was in the time when it served as a hammam.
The Chifte Hammam covers a total area of 1,056 m2. It got its name from the Turkish word "chift" meaning double, since it offered two baths, one for women and the other for men. The male and female parts are not positioned next to each other, as was the case with most double hammams, but are assembled with the bathing parts. This architectural solution was probably implemented due to terrain conditions. The site was narrow and long, bordering the Serava River and the already built facilities: the Bedesten, the Suli-Lodging and the Murat Pasha Mosque. Both the male and female sides consisted of the same rooms: wardrobes, slightly warmer rooms, the baths, and halvets (extremely hot private bathing rooms). The male side was originally entered from the northwest side, it had more rooms and richer interior decoration, whereas the women's section was accessed from the southeast side, which later offered a swimming pool too, intended for the growing Jewish population in Skopje.
During its usage, the Chifte Hammam, like all other baths, was leased. Its rent for the years 1452/55 and 1467/68 was 20,000 akçes. At different times, the hammam was known under the names: New hammam, Isa-begam hammam, Bojadziski hammam and Jashar-beyam hammam. It is assumed that the Chifte Hammam stopped working and serving its basic purpose in 1916/17. The building was first used by a tobacco processing association, later it was used as a soap workshop, and then it was a leather company. The hammam has been constantly repaired and adapted satisfying the needs of its new users. Afterwards, it started to fall apart, and after the war it was used as a warehouse by various companies.
In 1963, the Chifte Hammam was significantly damaged as a result of the great earthquake in Skopje. But, thanks to its solid construction and the constant interventions made, it can be concluded that the Chifte Hammam is completely preserved to this day. In 2000, the hammam was gifted to the Skopje Art Gallery to use it as a multimedia exhibition space.