900-year-old baths found in southeastern Turkey

By Halil Fidan

SANLIURFA, Turkey (AA) - The remains of a 12th century bathhouse has been discovered in southeast Turkey, the head of the archeological dig said Friday.

The baths date to the Zengids, a Turkic dynasty that ruled the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia on behalf of the Seljuks, excavation leader Mehmet Onal said.

At the site at Harran, in Sanliurfa province bordering Iraq, Onal’s team uncovered domed cooling and heating rooms dating back 900 years, he told reporters.

Nur ad-Din Zengi, who succeeded his father in 1146, ruled for nearly 30 years until the Zengid dynasty was replaced in Syria by the Ayyubids led by Saladin.

Onal said both leaders, who between them ousted the Crusaders from the Middle East, may have used the baths when visiting Harran, which served as an important royal residence at the time.