Lots of interesting stories have been told about Sheikh Bahaei Public Bath; but the one that is more famous than all others is the story of its candle, the candle that never went out.
It is said that all the water used in this bath warmed up by means of this one and only candle!
Scholars believe that the endless burning of this candle had probably been powered by the gasses that resulted from the sewage of the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan and also flammable oils.
Unfortunately, European researchers extinguished the bath’s ever-burning candle forever while trying to find the solution to this riddle, and the secret behind this candle is covered up until the present moment.
Sheikh Bahaei Bath is a hundred metres south of the Nizam ul-Molk Dome (south of the Atiq Jame Mosque), in Dardasht Neighbourhood, and in terms of architecture, has the features of the baths belonging to the Safavid era.
The bath has always been called the Mysterious Bath, and in its vicinity, there is a house known as Sheikh Bahaei House.
In the course of the house’s restoration process, several pieces of clay pipe, a number of related wells and a test tube were found in the basement, and scholars believe that these may be related to the bath’s design.
The bath was active until half a century ago and fulfilled its original function by servicing the residents of its historic neighbourhood; yet it was gradually closed and is now little more than a ruin waiting for restoration.
