Taşçı Baths

The Taşçı Baths (Stone-Cutter's Baths) are a historic Ottoman hammam in Erzincan District of Erzincan Province in the upper Euphrates valley of eastern Anatolia. The name Taşçı — stone-cutter or stonemason — suggests these baths served a craftsmen's quarter following the Ottoman tradition of naming neighbourhood hammams after the guild or trade of the community they primarily served. Erzincan's position at the junction of routes connecting the Black Sea to eastern Anatolia and the upper Euphrates to central Turkey made it an important regional hub whose diverse population of craftsmen, merchants, and government personnel all relied on the local hammam network for the weekly bathing that was a cornerstone of Ottoman hygiene practice.