The bath-house of Kali-Zhusap is a well preserved monument of household architecture of the 19th century. It is located in central part of the city of Taraz. The bath-house consists of 11 premises and is a unique combination of Roman thermae and Turkish hamams. Also architecture of the bath-house reflects local traditions of similar constructions.
Merchan Zhunus nicknamed “Kali" was a rich citizen of the city of Taraz and traded with silk from Bukhara. He had his own caravan-seria. According to his contemporaries, the wealth of Zhunus was estimated in several chests of gems. When Kali heard that builders from Fergana and Bukhara came to the city, he invited them and ordered to build a public bath-house to citizens of Taraz. He chose the place for construction and founded the first stone of the construction.
The bath-house is erected from burnt bricks in the form similar to public buildings of Central Asia. Solid walls of rooms are vaulted with domes. Currently only 10 out of 11 rooms were preserved. One was demolished. All rooms of the building combined with each other by arched corridors. The area of the bath-house is 18x25 meters. Thickness of the walls are 0,8 meters, height – 2,5-3 meters, height of the rooms until the domes are 4-6 meters. There are square holes on top of the domes for lighting. Inner walls of the bath-house are decorated with exedras, arches, inscriptions, frescos and mosaics. Brick masonry is used in decoration of the facades. Inner wall are plastered.
The building of the bath-house consists of three buildings that are divided according to their functions. In the area of commons use are located entrance hall, recreation room, washing hall with massage sufu in the center and corner exedras, heating room, two rooms with exedras to reservoirs to cold and hot water. The technical sector consists of heading boiler built in the wall, well and cesspool situated in the court. The sector of limited use represents an isolated block of three mid-size washing premises and has got separate a outdoor exit. The bath-house is heated by tunnels with heat pockets built in walls under the floor.
In 1982 the bath-house of Kali-Zhusup was included in the list of the monuments of history and culture of Kazakh SSR and taken under protection of the country. In this year there were completed first restoration works by Dzhambul restoration shop. For the 2000th anniversary of the ancient city of Taraz the bath-house underwent complete restoration by specialists of RGKP “Kazrestovraciya" in 2002. The museum named “The ancient city of the Great Silk Road" was created on the basis of the bath-house.