Turkish Bath

Turkish bath, namely Hamam, is a long-standing tradition that has been an essential part of Turkish culture and way of life for many centuries. The bath ritual has its roots in the washing traditions of the Turks that they brought with themselves from Central Asia, combined with the Byzantine and Roman traditions they adopted in Anatolia. Their importance can be best explained with the emphasis placed upon cleanliness by the Muslim Religion.

Since Medieval times public bath houses have been built everywhere and they retain an architectural and historical importance. The Turkish way of bathing in a "hamam" is very healthy and refreshing, and for this reason has been a very important part of life for both Turkish men and women. Particularly for women, rich and poor, the Turkish bath has served as the heart of social life in a restrictive society serving as a women's club. Not only was it a hygienic but also a social occasion. Often women celebrated important events at the bath such as weddings and births. Such ceremonies included the bridal bath, the bath on the 40th day after a baby's birth, holiday bath on the eve of religious holidays, and the guest bath to which the hostess would invite her friends and relatives to meet a special visitor. For women, baths were also beauty saloons where facial, hair and body care was available together with therapy with various oils, as well as herbal treatment for many conditions.