44| Journal of Islamic Architecture, 4(2) December 2016 JOURNAL OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE P-ISSN: 2086-2636 E-ISSN: 2356-4644 Journal Home Page: http://ejournal.uin-malang.ac.id/index.php/JIA THE OTTOMAN HAMMAM AL-WARD IN SAIDA, LEBANON | Received May 30th 2016 | Accepted July 26th 2016 | Available online December 20th 2016 | | DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.18860/jia.v4i2.3485 | Howayda al-Harithy Department of Architecture and Design American University of Beirut Beirut, Lebanon hharithy@aub.edu.lb ABSTRACT Hammam Al-Ward is an Ottoman monument in Saida. Siada (or Sidon) is a coastal city in Lebanon and a hidden treasure with numerous Mamluk and Ottoman monuments. These monuments are of various types, from mosques to hammams to palaces and khans. They remain unstudied and at times undocumented. This is an architectural monograph of Hammam Al-Ward placed within the urban history of the city and the social practices of its inhabitants. Through documentation and comparative analysis, the paper argues that the hammam was built during the early eighteenth century but carries within it an old tradition of building that dates back to the Mamluk period and an old socio-spatial practice that dates back to Roman times. The article investigates and presents the urban condition that unfolds through the hammam patronage, style and location, the architectural interpretation of the hammam type of the Mediterranean Arab World and the socio-spatial practices of bathing and leisure that continue till modern times. KEYWORDS: Islamic; Architecture; Hammam; Mamluk; Ottoman; Saida INTRODUCTION Hammams, or public baths, have historically functioned as one of the key elements of public life in Medieval Islamic cities. The medieval walled city of Saida was home to hammams dating from the Mamluk and Ottoman periods, some of whichwere fully functional untilquite recently.Aspaceboth sacred and mundane, the hammam served hygienic and religious purposes where ritual purity (tahara) could be obtained. An extension of social life, it also fostered a sense of community by serving as a secular site of leisure and respite. Hammam al-Ward, built in the heart of the city in the early eighteenth century, was the last one to have been built. This monograph is both an historical and architectural record of the surviving hammam presented in the context of the city and its dwellers. The methods are therefore dependent on reconstructing the urban context of the time, surveying and documenting the building, and on comparative analysis that locates Hammam Al-Ward within the historic evolution of the hammam building type in the Mediterranean medieval period. HISTORICAL CONTEXT The commission and construction of hammams and other monuments in eighteenth century Saida was very much connected to the patronage of prominent local families who took advantage of the resources made available to them by the ruling elite. Construction of the built environment became both a symbol and a means to political power and social status. Early seventeenth century Saida was marked by the ruleof a local amir: Fakhreddin al-Ma’niyyal-Thani (1572-1635). Despite its status as a subunit (sanjaq) annexed to the province of Damascus, Saida nevertheless becamean important center for the powerful amir’spolitical activities and patronage, which was reflected in the built environment. Saida witnessed an unprecedented momentum of urban development: constructions of khans (such as khan al- Franj), palaces (Saray Fakhreddin), mosques (al- Qtayshiyyamosque), madrasas and hammams (hammam al-Mir) were built in response to the booming economic, demographic and social needs of the time (Figure 1). By the end of Fakhreddin’s rule, descendants of the Ma’n family (mainly the Shehabis, amirs of Shouf) struggled to maintain their authority and establish good relations with Saida’s rulers [1]. Saidawas declared an independent province (wilaya) in 1660, a strategic and an administrative measure brought about by Ottoman authorities with the aim to exert greater control over their provinces and to keep an eye on potentially rebellious locals [1]. A series of short-term rulers were appointed to govern Saidaand a consequence of this quick turnover of