They were generally built next to a well or natural spring which provided water, while the sloping topography of the city allowed for easy drainage.[1] The layout of the traditional hammam in the region was inherited from the Roman bathhouse model. The first major room visitors entered was the undressing room (mashlah in Arabic or goulsa in the local Moroccan Arabic dialect), equivalent to the Roman apodyterium. From the undressing room visitors proceeded to the bathing/washing area which consisted of three rooms: the cold room (el-barrani in the local Arabic dialect; equivalent to the frigidarium), the middle room or warm room (el-wasti in Arabic; equivalent to the tepidarium), and the hot room (ad-dakhli in Arabic; equivalent to the caldarium).[63][2] Though their architecture can be very functional, some of them, like the Hammam as-Saffarin and the Hammam al-Mokhfiya, have notable decoration.