The historical Turkish public bath is called a “Hammam”. The Ottoman Empires considered this Hammam as the best and traditional way to relax and self-care. Nowadays, people are more focused towards their self-care. Hammam is one good option for people with such thoughts. However, there are a few protocols that need to be abided. This article from Thrillark helps you to understand Hammam in detail.
What to expect?
- The Turkish bath is a Middle East-originated practice. It represents a community gathering.
- This type of public bathing requires movement from one chamber to another.
- Both genders will have a separate bath area, and a person of the same gender as bathers will be the attendants. A male attendant is called Tellak, whereas a female attendant is called a Natir.
- There will be dedicated trained people to massage your body per your needs.
- A detoxifying bathing experience.
Prerequisites for Turkish Bath
Before encountering the World’s best bathing experience, we must adhere to some prerequisites. Bathers need to purchase these items before entering a Hammam.
- Bathers in Hammam will not be naked. They will be wearing their undergarments or swimwear wrapped with a Peshtemal towel. Peshtemal is a Turkey towel made of natural fibres. Bathers are preferred to purchase this towel before their bath.
- Scrub and sponge, known as Kese, should be purchased for a perfect hygienic bathing experience.
- It is necessary to purchase waterproof slippers, olive oil-based soaps, shampoo, and dry fluffy towels individually for health and safety purposes.
- It is recommended not to wear any makeup or skin products on the body before the bath.
- The following people are not allowed to use the Turkish bath.
- Expectant Mothers
- Pregnant women
- People with cardiovascular illness
- People with kidney-related illness
- People with fever and cold
- People with sensitive skin or skin-related problems
- Women in their Menstrual cycle
- People with Sensitivity to heat issues
People with the above-listed symptoms should refrain from using the public community Turkish bath.
Every Hammam recommends its bathers bring their items to avoid any communicable infection transfers from one person to another. However, every Hammam will have a dedicated shop to sell all these products. One can choose to visit the bazaar and purchase or buy at Hammams. Nowadays, shops are selling Turkish Hammam gift boxes containing all the necessary items. People visiting Turkey can also prefer purchasing this gift box.
Process of Turkish Bath
A Turkish bath is a fusion of steam and hydrotherapy. It takes 45 minutes to an hour to complete the process.
The Turkish bath centre welcomes the bathers with a traditional beverage like Tea or Gazoz [Sweet Soda beverage]. Then, the customer enters a series of small individual changing rooms. The rooms will have a bed-like platform for relaxing and lockers to safeguard all your valuable things.
The next step in Hammam is to move bathers to a large and circular marble Diaz steam room. This high-roof steam room gets its heat through an external furnace. A machine blows the hot air into the room. It is called Hararet. The elevated marble Diaz in the centre of the room is called the Naval Stone. The bathers lie on this stone to experience the warm air through the ducts in the stone.
Massaging and washing take place after some time. Once the massage is over, bathers will move to the individual sinks called Kurna, fitted along the walls. The sinks will have both hot and cold water taps. Individuals can fill the sink with water of their desired heat. A metal or copper bowl called Tas is used as a mug to pour the water from the sink.
Turks prefer a cold shower at this last stage for a soothing experience and to bring the body temperature to a regular temperature. Bathers get a Sherbet or Ottoman-style traditional fruit juice or Turkish tea.
Why Turkish Bath?
Across the World, different regions have their bathing style, like the Russian and Moroccan baths. But why should one choose a Turkish bath?
The infrastructure of the traditional Turkish bath is entirely different from that of other baths. There are small rooms of dry heat and not the regular saunas. The exposure to this warm air for 10 to 15 minutes helps in oozing out of sweat. This warmness increases blood circulation and opens the pores for deep cleansing and exfoliation. In Saunas, the humidity will be 20%, whereas, in such a Turkish bath setup, the humidity will be 100%.
These high temperatures and humidity are generated using high-tech machines and are limescale-free. The bathers enter the communal pool, which is made of marble stone and has high roof ceilings, ornamentally constructed sinks and walls, and skylights for natural lighting and airflow.
There is a belief that this process helps our muscles to relax and become smooth. This premise helps the bathers relax alone for as long as they wish. This infrastructure and process are more outcome-oriented than other bathing techniques.
Maintenance of Turkish Bath Area
The maintenance of the Turkish bath area is also one major factor on why people choose Turkish over other baths.
- Turks daily clean the Heated Naval stones, Kurnas and Tas, to ensure no bacterial communicable infections spread to the visitors.
- Cleaning the surfaces of the Hammam, walls, and dressing rooms are also equally important since it is full of moisture and water throughout the day. Turks clean this on a daily basis once the Hammam is empty.
- Periodic inspections of Steamers and Windpipe ways are also happening to ensure there is no wear and tear.
- Materials and accessories used are washed and cleaned on a regular basis.
Benefits of Turkish Hammam
There are many benefits of Hammam. Though there are not many studies to prove this theoretically, many practical experiences have confirmed these benefits.
- Reduces the Stress
- All of us are living the most stressful life. This bath will reduce the stress.
- Skin Cleansing
- The steam bath can help in cleansing the pores in the skin.
- Reduces toxins
- The process of warm massage and cold shower helps reduce the dead cells and thus eliminate the toxins.
- Blood circulation
- Massage helps improve blood circulation.
- Respiratory tract clean
- Inhaling hot water filled with herbs can clean the respiratory tract.
- Improve WBC
- There is a belief that these steam baths improve White Blood Cells.
- Metabolism
- Steam brings out all the sweat and increases the blood flow. Hence, metabolism also increases.
Hammam Recommendations from Thrillark
There are a few Hammam recommendations from our side. We can curate an itinerary that includes a Turkish bath during your visit.
- Cagaloglu Hammam
- It was the last constructed Hammam by the Ottoman Empire in 1741.
- This Hammam has a very unique and grand interior.
- This Hammam was honoured by the renowned The New York Times magazine in its “1000 best places to visit in the World” article.
- Aga Hammam
- It is Istanbul’s oldest Hammam and has been in use since 1454.
- Cukurcuma Hammam
- This Hammam was renovated recently with World-class amenities.
- It was built during the 1830s.
- It is a couple-friendly Hammam and permits you and your family to bathe in the shared space.
- Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hammam
- It is one of the most luxurious hammams, as most tools are gold-plated.
A few other Hammams in the city offer a wide range of services for their customers, like four-hand massages, deep herbal massages, jacuzzi baths, hot oil massage, foot reflexology, hot stone therapy, and much more.
Final words from Thrillark
Turkey is a place of destination. We have packages to cover the most important places of Turkey and mandatory activities to be performed in the city, like Turkey traditional dining, traditional baths, witnessing Whirling Dervishes and lots more. Call us now to book your holiday trip with Thrillark.
