Hammam (Arabic. ) is the name of public baths in Turkey and in the East.
The Turkish bath has always been considered a source of true enjoyment in the East. Temples of other religions and, in some places, the surviving Roman baths were often rebuilt under the hammams. The main distinguishing feature of this type of baths is a special temperature regime. It is not as hot as a regular sauna or steam room (the temperature ranges from 30 to 55 degrees), ideal for people who do not like or do not tolerate high temperatures. This also ensures the popularity of the Turkish bath among women.
The Turkish bath, or "hammam", owes its origin to Roman thermae. The name "hammam" comes from the Arabic word "ham" – hot.
Another of Muhammad's sayings is "The warmth of the Hammam increases fertility and, consequently, the number of worshippers of Islam." This is how Turkish baths became widespread. Subsequently, a special hammam philosophy developed in Turkey, and special traditions and rituals were associated with it.
The Turkish bath has always been considered a source of true enjoyment in the East. Temples of other religions and, in some places, the surviving Roman baths were often rebuilt under the hammams. The main distinguishing feature of this type of baths is a special temperature regime. It is not as hot as a regular sauna or steam room (the temperature ranges from 30 to 55 degrees), ideal for people who do not like or do not tolerate high temperatures. This also ensures the popularity of the Turkish bath among women.
Women's baths in Turkey are always built next to men's baths, they have the same source of water and heat supply, but different entrances. In the case when the local community or the developer, in modern terms, did not have enough funds to build a separate bathhouse, the bathhouse was built alone. There was a separate day for women (they often share even and odd days with men) on which a rope was simply hung across the front door as a sign of "women's day". This applies to a large number of Muslim countries in the Middle East and Central Asia.
One of the distinctive features of the hammam is the presence of not only the Turkish bath itself, but also several accompanying procedures, such as various types of massage, pilling, and very often the traditional sauna for us.
Every Turk is obliged to let his wife go to the sauna once a week. Women always gathered at the hammam as if for a holiday: they dressed up in beautiful clothes, took sweets with them. In Hammamet, they drank coffee, discussed husbands and other men, often spending the whole day there from morning to evening.
Useful properties
The following should be noted as the beneficial properties of the hammam:
- Cleanses the skin, opens the pores;
- Relieves fatigue;
- Fever decreases and colds heal.;
- The body is being cleansed;
- The respiratory system is stabilizing;
- The pain goes away.
