Classic Turkish Culture-Turkish Baths
Hammam (bath) is the general public bathing places where are heated with special edition and in which there are hot and cold water. Although the history of hammams stretch up to the Romans, today when said a hammam, the title “Turkish” as an adjective is added to the baths around the world. Ancient Romans and Byzantines built many baths, but improved with steam- heated baths were made by Turks and baths are called Turkish Baths in general. There are two types of baths, one of which is the public baths and the other one is double baths. Public baths serves to the men on certain days of the week and the women on other days of the week. However, double baths consist of two baths, one of which belongs to women and the other one belongs to men.
Turkish Baths consist of three main parts generally; the first place is a dressing section; the second place is a bathing section as the coldness (cold section) and the temperature or Harare (hot section); the last place is a heating section (boiler room). Dressing place is located next to the street door and consists of the sofa, which is around a large courtyard, coffee center and divided benches; people can rest in these benches after washing. After the dressing section, there is a door for coldness section. The section is a place which is heated in moderate. There are coaches to sit and to lie, generally after washing people dry up in the coldness. The actual place of bath is the temperature where is located next to the coldness. When entering the temperature, the central stone (göbektaşı) in the middle of the section which is high and wide draws attention. There are basins (kurna) and cubicles (halvet) around the central stone. Heating section is located under the bath warms the bath. Fire is burned; hot water heats the bath with private ways passing through the marble walls and floors.
If we give an example bath used a symbol of orientalism in literature or cinema, we can say the film which is known by everyone “Tosun Paşa”, a scene of the film is in a Turkish bath and there are women whose cheeks were red, pastries on the navel or central stone, wraps, desserts, songs and chats.
Baths were built around the whole country in the 15th century, and also baths had exceeded 10 thousand just in Istanbul in the 17th century. People went to the baths for many reasons in these times. For example; nefse (soul), to see bride, bridegroom, vow, forty, circumcision, epilating wax were some of them. Especially women in Ottoman went to the baths to have fun and enjoy. Baths have all forms of entertainment venue for women so when said Turks or Ottoman, baths come to mind firstly. Today, organizations in baths are still held by women as under the names of “childbed bath”, “baby’s forty- bath”, “votive bath” and “henna night bath”. Organizations are held also for men such as “soldier bath”, “circumcision bath” and “holiday bath”.
Turkish Baths are the social life areas with their bright and huge hot section, their walls decorated with fields, their temperature up to 50 degrees and their domed structures. Also there are lots of important elements such as tellak, natır, külhanbey, peştemal and takunya. Tellak is a man who washes men with a cloth bath glove, natır is a woman who washes women with a cloth bath glove; külhanbey is an officer who is responsible for bath heating; takunya are wooden slippers and peştemal is waist cloth.
This culture transferred through the generations has benefits to our health also. Hot water and steam stimulate the body and open the pores if you don’t stay long time. Also foam massage gives a sense of relief and provides the blood circulation. Staying for long time is dangerous.
People, who want to have an experience in a bath in Istanbul, can prefer to visit the beautiful Turkish bath with their magnificent Ottoman architecture. Süleymaniye Bath,Çemberlitaş Bath, Galatasaray Bath, Cağaloğlu Bath, Gedikpaşa Bath ,Hurrem Sultan Bath and are some of these historical Ottoman baths.
