18 Int. J. Global Environmental Issues, Vol. 15, Nos. 1/2, 2016 Copyright © 2016 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. The Ottoman balnear buildings of Crete, issues regarding their construction, water supply and present situation Eleni I. Kanetaki Department of Architectural Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, New Library Building, Kimmeria, Xanthi, 67100., 67, Dimocharous str., Lycavettus, Athens GR11521, Greece Email: eleni.kanetaki@gmail.com Abstract: Crete’s Ottoman conquest from the Venetians took place during the last decades of the 17th c. Ottoman Turks enriched the historic centres of Herakleio, Chania, Rethymno, etc. with secular buildings corresponding to their everyday needs. Former Venetian structures were remodelled, while new religious and commercial ones, as well as of domestic character, were constructed. Hammams (‘Turkish baths’) were among them, as they fulfilled hygiene conditions, but mostly due to the Koran prescriptions regarding body and soul purification. Many Ottoman monuments in Greece have been lately restored and been given new uses, while in a few cases maintain their original one. Keywords: ottoman crete; hammams; water supply of balnear buildings. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Kanetaki, E.I. (2016) ‘The Ottoman balnear buildings of Crete, issues regarding their construction, water supply and present situation’, Int. J. Global Environmental Issues, Vol. 15, Nos. 1/2, pp.18–33. Biographical notes: Eleni I. Kanetaki received her PhD in Architectural Design from the Architectural School N.T.U.A. in 2003, and has concluded the Specialisation Course in Restoration of Monuments at the Universita’ degli Studi di Roma ‘La Sapienza’ in 1997. Currently, she teaches as an Adjunct Lecturer at the Department of Architectural Engineering of Democritus University of Thrace, Xanthi and at the Technological Educational Institutes of Pireus and Athens. She works as a freelancer on architectural surveys, restoration and reuse projects of historical buildings. She is the author of Ottoman Baths in the Greek Lands, Technical Chamber of Greece, 2004. This paper is a revised and expanded version of a paper entitled ‘Water Management Practices Focusing on the Ottoman Baths in Crete, Hellas: Lesson learned’ presented at IWA Regional Symposium on Water, Wastewater and Environment: Traditions and Culture, Patras, Greece, 22–24 March 2014.