Baths of Hızır Paşa

The Baths of Hızır Paşa are a historic Ottoman hammam in Amasya District of Amasya Province, in the hauntingly beautiful river city of northern Anatolia where Ottoman wooden mansions cluster along the Yeşilırmak riverbanks beneath ancient Pontic royal tombs cut into the towering cliff face. Named after Hızır Paşa, an Ottoman official whose name is preserved in this architectural monument, the hammam served the community of a city that combined an important role as provincial capital and seat of learning with one of the most remarkable physical settings of any Ottoman city. The baths stand as part of the Ottoman legacy of Amasya, a city whose layered historical monuments — from Pontic royal tombs to Seljuk türbes to Ottoman mansions — make it one of Turkey's most historically resonant provincial capitals.