The Mughals clearly emphasized cleanliness, as this public bathhouse shows. The Aga Khan Foundation and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Islamabad renovated the bathhouse, and I am grateful to them.
Hakim Illmuddin Wazir Khan, then Governor of Lahore, originally constructed the Hammam in 1635 CE and also endowed the adjacent Wazir Khan Mosque. When the Mughal Empire collapsed, people stopped using the Hammam. Since then, several groups have attempted to renovate it, with the most recent conservation effort finishing only four years ago.
The signs don’t do a good job of explaining how the entire system worked, and it can be confusing unless you already know something about Roman baths. During my tour, I didn’t see any printed guides, and no human guides were available for hire. That said, it is still a worthwhile trip to make in a cool area with a small courtyard café where you can end your visit.
Since you are in Lahore’s walled city, it makes sense to see the Wazir Khan Mosque, visit the Delhi Gate, and go to the spice market on this trip. Ending your visit at this hammam will give you a great sense of calm amid the usual hustle and bustle of central Lahore.
The places referred to in the previous paragraph could all be visited in about 2 to 3 hours’ walking. Foreigners have to pay a fee of 400 Rupees.
The artistic marvel of the 17th century, the Shahi Hammam, also called the Wazir Khan Hammam, is located inside Delhi Gate. Hakim Ilmuddin Ansari, better known as Wazir Khan, built this hammam around 1634 AD while serving as Governor of Lahore under Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658 AD).
“Hakim Ilmuddin Ansari built the Shahi Hammam around 1634 AD.”
The builders constructed it as a public bathhouse for tourists and city residents; a nearby caravanserai once stood here, though it no longer exists. Hakim Ilmuddin Ansari, honored with the title of Wazir Khan, built this Hammam and the renowned Wazir Khan Mosque within the Walled City. Today, the Shahi Hammam remains the only significant building in Pakistan reflecting Central Asian, Turkish, and Iranian traditions of public hot baths.
“The Shahi Hammam uniquely represents the Central Asian tradition of public hot baths among Pakistan’s monumental buildings.”
The Hammam stands as a single-story building with a floor area of more than 1000 square meters. The architects designed it in the style of Turkish and Iranian bathing establishments of the period, which included hot, warm, and cool baths, sweat rooms, and similar facilities. The Shahi Hammam features 21 interconnected rooms offering all the facilities of a public bath, plus an additional room angled to face Mecca for prayers.
“Shahi Hammam is a collection of 21 interconnected rooms offering all the facilities found in a public bath”
Some historical sources state that people used the Hammam extensively during the Mughal era and set aside a particular day of the week for exclusive use. The Shahi Hammam remains the sole surviving monumental public bath from that period in all of the South Asian subcontinent. You can find exquisitely decorated frescoed panels depicting angels, animals, birds, floral, and geometric patterns on the entrance gateway in the west and in the main hall in the north of the building.
“The Shahi Hammam remains the only monumental public bath from that period to survive in the entire South Asian subcontinent.”
In the 17th century, the Shahi Hammam fell into disuse as the Mughal Empire declined and later rulers brought disorder. When the Sikhs came to power, they destroyed the heating system and removed many of the ornaments from the ceilings and walls. The British Raj then arrived, and the hammam was turned into offices and homes for the police and soldiers.
After 1947, it was used as a boys’ primary school, a girls’ vocational school, and a dispensary; it also served as an office for the Department of Government Residences for employees, who were housed on the roof. The Department of Auqaf let out the northwestern rooms (Hujras) as shops, and further shops or encroachments were made on the structure’s façades; damage to the structure also allowed water to enter the foundations. Minor restoration work was carried out in 1991, but this could not be maintained for long.
“During the Sikh rule, its heating system was completely damaged, and many ornaments were plucked out of the ceilings and walls”
“Hammam was transformed into the offices and residence of the police and soldiers”
“After 1947, it was converted into a boys’ primary school, a girls’ vocational school, a dispensary and also served as office for various government departments”
For many years the hammam had lost both its originality and its beauty. The carefully executed frescoes, painted by the master artisans of the Mughal period, were later covered with lime wash. The original hypocaust system (a method of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air beneath the floor of a room) was then covered with marble and cement as it was converted into offices and other spaces. Similarly, the rooms containing the steam bath, the hot bath, and the washing areas were also rendered useless and converted into offices. As a result, the whole hammam became non-functional, and nothing was either in working order or preserved.
“Over the years, the hammam had lost its originality and beauty”
“The original hypocaust system was covered with marble and cement to use it for offices and other purposes”
In accordance with Persian custom, sunlight passed through openings in the bath roof, which also helped with ventilation. Most of the hammam’s interior has been kept unchanged, and some Mughal-period frescoes remain. Because the façade had only a few windows, merchants were allowed to run their shops along the hammam’s outer walls.
