Dates of construction: Late l6th century

Period and style: Ottoman / Ottoman Classical

Formal characteristic:  Hamam -Turkish public bath- does not have many similarities with Roman and Byzantine public bath. Baths located at the crowded and much used parts of towns. A bath included a centrally located anteroom (dressing hall), as a transitional warming-up space (tepidarium) and a bathing space (caldarium). The exterior parts of the public baths are always without decoration. There are a mosque, madrassa or public kitchen around baths. This building type was highly utilitarian and do not have any opulent features.                

Before destruction
Ownership history: Cejvan Beg who founded the charitable foundation, or waqf was a steward. In Mostar, he built a domed mosque and a mekteb in Shemsi Kethuda Mahala, and a mosque in nearby Blagaj. His endowment contained 36 shops, several bakeries in the bazaar, two watermills in Blagaj, and two in Jasenica. The bath now belongs to the Islamic Community of Mostar.

Site history: The exact date of construction is not known, but according to waqf records it must have been built after 1554. The architect of Ćejvan Beg Hamam was not identified. There were two public baths in Mostar from Ottoman period, Čejvan Beg Hamam and Sinan Paša Hamam, utilized by the general public of Mostar for many generations. The Ćejvan Beg Hamam is located at the west of the Neretva River and north of the Radobolja River. It is assumed that the water for this hamam was drawn from the Radobolja River. The bath was probably abandoned after its natural water source was cut off.

The Čejvan Beg Hamam lost its dressing hall section, located at the south flank, at an unknown date. The frigidarium section was still intact in 1881 but later lost; during that same period, the three storey Konjhodžića House was connected to the bath and was severely damaged during the hostilities of 1992-1994. The stone-vaulted roof of the tepidarium was Iost at an unknown date.

After destruction
The caldarium is located to the north of the tepidarium. Currently access to the caldarium is blocked by rubble stones. The former inhabitants of the Konjhodžića House used the tepidarium for routine storage. The door was probably blocked to separate the back yard from the caldarium, which was used as a warehouse beginning. The furnace section which was located to the north of the caldarium is lost.

After losing its functionality, the bath-restored in 1968-was used as a warehouse. Bath sustained heavy damages before, during, and after the hostilities of 1992-1994. Since 1994, no efforts towards stabilization or repair have been made; despite its status as one of the oldest Ottoman structures in the historic city, the Čejvan Beg Hamam is in a very bad state of preservation.

Assumptions for reuse: The Čejvan Beg Hamam may remain in public use as an exhibition space or interpretive center. While the Hamam could be restored to serve its original function also, the larger Austro-Hungarian bath near the Tito Bridge is currently being restored as a spa by Unesco.

Proposed intervention: The cost estimate below reflects approximate costs for repair, restoration, and upgrade of the Hamam shell along with the attached structure dating from the l9th century (Konjhodžića House).

Cost estimate: for Hamam: 270 000 USD (1,300 x 203 m2),
                       for Konjhodžića House: 168 000 USD (800 x 210 m2)