Upper Hamam, Banishte

The Upper Hamam (Gorni Hamam) of Banishte is a traditional Ottoman-era public bath in the village of Banishte in the Debar municipality of western North Macedonia, distinguished by its naturally sulphurous thermal waters. The village's geothermal springs endowed this hammam with a reputation recognised across the region — sulphur waters have been valued since antiquity within a long thermal tradition, and the Upper Hamam served generations of villagers who came for both hygiene and the well-being of its mineral-rich steam. Protected as a cultural monument, it preserves the bathing tradition of a remote Macedonian mountain community at the confluence of Albanian, Macedonian, and Ottoman cultural influences.