Baños arabes, La Zubia

The Arab baths of La Zubia, in Granada, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain, were built between the 12th and 13th centuries. They are located on the edge of the urban area, near an area of orchards that form the natural edge of this population in its northern area, being its situation determined by the layout of the irrigation channel that supplied water, which runs transversal to the property and constitute an interesting example of the typology of the Muslim rural bath.

This building and the nearby Casa de las Infantas are the only preserved remains of the Arab buildings that existed in the historic farmhouse of La Zubia.

The building follows the model of the Muslim rural bath, determined by its simplified structure and its eminently functional character, in which the extraordinary solidity of the construction stands out.

Its distribution consists of a succession of rooms, of which two of 8.3 meters long are preserved complete and of a third one attached transversally, which corresponds to the vestibule, the remains can be observed.

The naves are rectangular, parallel and of identical dimensions. They are covered with half-barrel vaults, decorated with star-shaped louvres, which serve to illuminate and ventilate the interior space.

At present, the first room is accessed directly from the outside, through a space divided into two arches, the outer one with segmental architraves and the inner one with lintels. The arches leading to the second room and the boiler area are in line with the first one.

On the outside, there are remains of brick walls where the vaults of the disappeared rooms were supported. The volumes are clear and lack ornamentation. These features, together with the solidity of the brickwork, reaffirm the eminently functional character of the building.

On the other hand, remains of the infrastructures of the bath are preserved, such as the boiler and the woodshed, also recording the route of the irrigation channel that supplied water to the building.