Just north of the Umayyad Mosque, the 'King Al-Zahir' is the most historic and ornate of all bathhouses in Damascus, featuring elegant Ayyubid and Mamluk architecture. Dating back to 985 CE, and managed by the Bassam family for the past 155 years, this is possibly the oldest continuously running bathhouse in the world. You can catch a quick glimpse of the elegant interior as you walk by, or you can simply boldly enter to emerge a little later as a reborn person; here's a short video of what you can expect. During the Syrian conflict, when rebels blocked water supplies to the city, this hammam become of the few places in the city where citizens could come to wash and feel warm again, due to its private water well.