A hammam in Chefchaouen, Morocco

The Turkish bath (Turkish: hamam; from Arabic: حمّام, ḥammām) is the Middle Eastern variant of a steam bath, which can be categorized as a wet relative of the sauna. They have played an important role in cultures of the Middle-East, serving as places of social gathering, ritual cleansing, and as architectural structures, institutions, and (later) elements with special customs attached to them. Europeans learned about the Hammam via contacts with the Ottomans, hence the "Turkish" part of the name. Hamam may refer to: Turkish bath in Turkish Hamam (film), European film Hamam (soap), brand of soap in India Sam Hammam, Lebanese buisinessman and soccer guru Category: ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 742 KB) Summary This is a photo I took myself of a hammam in Chefchaouen in Morocco. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 742 KB) Summary This is a photo I took myself of a hammam in Chefchaouen in Morocco. ... Chefchaouen is a town in Northeast Morocco located at 35° 10′ 17″ N 5° 16′ 11″ W Chefchaouen is situated in the mountains of Rif, just inland from Tangier and Tetouan. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Look up Ottoman, ottoman in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In Western Europe, the Turkish bath as a method of cleansing the body and relaxation was particularly popular during the Victorian era. The process involved in taking a Turkish bath is similar to that of a sauna, but is more closely related to the bathing practices of the Romans. The borders of Western Europe were largely defined by the Cold War. ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her accession to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian era of the United Kingdom marked the height of the British Industrial Revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ...

A person taking a Turkish bath first relaxes in a room (known as the warm room) that is heated by a continuous flow of hot, dry air allowing the bather to perspire freely. Bathers may then move to an even hotter room (known as the hot room) before splashing themselves with cold water. After performing a full body wash and receiving a massage, bathers finally retire to the cooling-room for a period of relaxation. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

In Turkey, the advent of modern plumbing systems, showers, and bathtubs in homes caused the importance of hammams to fade in recent times. A plumber wrench for working on pipes and fittings Plumbing, from the Latin for lead (plumbum), is the skilled trade of working with pipes, tubing and plumbing fixtures for potable water systems and the drainage of waste. ...

Etymology

ḥammām is from the Arabic root ḥmm with a general meaning of "heat", from which many words referring to "hot spring", "fever" etc. According to Ibn Sidah ḥammām is derived from al-ḥamīm "the vehemence of summer heat" (Lane). Ibn Sidah (died 1066) was an Andalusian scholar of Classical Arabic, author of the Muhkam, a dictionary of 28 volumes. ... Title page of the first volume The Arabic English Lexicon of 1893 by Edward William Lane in eight volumes is the monumental standard work of reference for Classical Arabic in western scholarship. ...

The word ḥammām simply means "bathroom" or "toilet" in many dialects of vernacular Arabic. A typical American bathroom A bathroom is a room that may have different functions depending on the cultural context. ... For other uses, see Toilet (disambiguation). ... The Arabic language is a Semitic language with many varieties that diverge widely from one another -— both from country to country and within a single country. ...

Architecture

Inside a modern hammam

The hammam combines the functionality and the structural elements of its predecessors in Anatolia, the Roman thermae and Byzantine baths, with the Central Asian Turkish tradition of steam bathing, ritual cleansing and respect of water. It is also known that Arabs have built many of their own version of the Greek-Roman baths they encountered following their conquests of Alexandria. However, the Turkish hammam has a more improved style and functionality from these structures that emerged as annex buildings of mosques or as re-use of the remaining Roman baths. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1097 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Hammam Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2048x1536, 1097 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Hammam Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create... Anatolia and Europe Anatolia (Turkish: from Greek: Ανατολία - Anatolia) is a peninsula of Western Asia which forms the greater part of the Asian portion of Turkey, as opposed to the European portion (Thrace, or traditionally Rumelia). ... This is a tentative list of topics regarding Roman culture. ... Roman public baths in Bath, England. ... Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. ... Children bathing in a small metal bathtub Bathing is the immersion of the body in fluid, usually water, or an aqueous solution. ... Nickname: Alexandria on the map of Egypt Map of Alexandria Coordinates: , Country Egypt Founded 334 BC Government  - Governor Adel Labib Population (2001)  - City 3,500,000 Time zone EET (UTC+2)  - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3) Twin Cities  - Baltimore  United States  - Cleveland  United States  - ConstanÅ£a  Romania  - Durban  South Africa... A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The hammams in the Ottoman culture started out as structural elements serving as annexes to mosques, however quickly evolved into institutions and eventually with the works of the Ottoman architect Sinan, into monumental structural complexes, the finest example being the Çemberlitaş Hammam in Istanbul, built in 1584. For other uses, see Sinan (disambiguation). ...

A typical hammam consists of three interconnected basic rooms similar to its Roman ancestors: the sıcaklık (or hararet -caldarium) which is the hot room, the warm room (tepidarium) which is the intermediate room and the soğukluk which is the cool room.

The sıcaklık usually has a large dome decorated with small glass windows that create a half-light; it also contains a large marble stone at the center that the customers lie on, and niches with fountains in the corners. This room is for soaking up steam and getting scrub massages. The warm room is used for washing up with soap and water and the soğukluk is to relax, dress up, have a refreshing drink, sometimes tea, and where available, nap in private cubicles after the massage. A few of the hammams in Istanbul also contain mikvehs, ritual cleansing baths for Jewish women. A Mikvah (or Mikveh, מקוה) is a Jewish ritual bath used for immersion in a purification ceremony. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination...

The hammam, like its early precursors, Roman (at least pre-Christian) thermae, is not exclusive to men only - hammam complexes usually contain separate quarters for men and women. Being social centers, in the Ottoman Empire, hammams were quite abundant, and were built in almost every Ottoman city. Integrated in daily life, they were centers of social gatherings, populated on almost every occasion with traditional entertainment (e.g. dancing and food, especially in the women's quarters) and ceremonies, such as before weddings, high-holidays, celebrating newborns, beauty trips etc. Roman public baths in Bath, England. ...

There existed some special accessories of which some still are being used at modern hammams: such as the peştemal (a special cloth of silk and/or cotton, to cover the body, like pareos), nalın (special wooden clogs that would prevent the wearer from slipping on the wet floor, often decorated with silver or mother-of-pearl), kese (a rough mitt for massage), and sometimes jewel boxes, gilded soap boxes, mirrors, henna bowls, perfume bottles and such. For other uses of this word, see Silk (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Cotton (disambiguation). ... We are all looking fsorward to a great sseason in 2005. ... This article is about the chemical element. ... Look up henna in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The reference book about hammams, oriental public baths, Turkish baths from Morocco to Iran  : "HAMMAMS" by Pascal Meunier (Dakota publishing Paris 2005).

Tellak (Staff)

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Tellak
Detail of an illustration from the Hubanname (The Book of the Handsome Ones), an eighteenth century homoerotic work by the Turkish poet Fazyl bin Tahir Enderuni.^{[verification needed]}

Traditionally, the masseurs in the baths, tellak in Turkish, who were young boys, helped wash clients by soaping and scrubbing their bodies.^{[citation needed]} They also worked as sex workers. ^{[citation needed]} We know today, by texts left by Ottoman authors, who they were, their prices, how many times they could bring their customers to orgasm, and the details of their sexual practices. (From the Dellâkname-i Dilküşâ, eighteenth century work by Dervish, Ismail Agha; Ottoman archives, Süleymaniye, Istanbul)^{[verification needed]} They were recruited from among the ranks of the non-Muslim subject nations of the Turkish empire, such as Greeks, Armenians, Jews, Albanians, Bulgarians, Roma and others. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The term pederasty or paederasty can refer to a wide range of erotic practices, generally between adult and adolescent males. ... The term pederasty or paederasty can refer to a wide range of erotic practices, generally between adult and adolescent males. ... Whore redirects here. ... An orgasm (sexual climax) is the conclusion of the plateau phase of the sexual response cycle, and is experienced by both males and females. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article is about dhimmi in the context of Islamic law. ... Languages Romani, languages of native region Religions Christianity, Islam Related ethnic groups South Asians (Desi) The Roma (singular Rom; sometimes Rroma, Rrom) or Romanies are an ethnic group living in many communities all over the world. ...

At times the relationship between a tellak and his client became intensely personal. It is recorded that in the mid-18th century, a janissary — an elite soldier in the Ottoman army, also often of European descent — had a tellak for a lover^{[citation needed]}When the latter was kidnapped by the men of another regiment and given over to the use of their commander, a days-long battle between the two janissary regiments ensued, which was brought to an end only when the Sultan ordered the unfortunate tellak hanged ^{[citation needed]}. The Janissaries comprised infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultans household troops and bodyguard. ...

After the defeat and dismemberment of the Ottoman empire, in the quickly westernizing Turkish republic the tellak boys lost their sexual aspect, and now the tellak's role is filled by adult attendants who specialize in more prosaic forms of scrubbing and massage. Yet in Turkish the term hamam oğlanı 'bath boy' is still used as a euphemism for a homosexual.^{[citation needed]} Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ...

Introduction of Turkish baths to Europe (The Victorian Turkish bath)

Turkish baths were introduced to the British Isles by David Urquhart, diplomat and sometime Member of Parliament for Stafford, who for political and personal reasons wished to popularize Turkish culture. In 1850 he had written The Pillars of Hercules, a book about his travels in Spain and Morocco in 1848, in which he described the system of dry hot-air baths which had been in use there, and in the Ottoman Empire, very little changed from those which had been so popular in Roman times. This article describes the archipelago in north-Western Europe. ... David Urquhart (1805 - May 16, 1877) was a British diplomat and writer. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... This article is about the town of Stafford, England. ... For other uses, see Ottoman (disambiguation). ...

In 1856, Richard Barter, having read Urquhart's book and worked on the construction of a bath with him, opened the first modern Turkish bath in the United Kingdom at St Ann's Hydropathic Establishment near Blarney, County Cork, Ireland. The following year, the first Turkish bath to be built in England since Roman times was opened in Manchester, and the idea spread rapidly through the north of England. It reached London in July 1860 when Roger Evans, a member of one of Urquhart's Foreign Affairs Committees, opened a Turkish bath at 5 Bell Street, near Marble Arch. Richard Barter (1802 - October 3, 1970) was an Irish physician and proponent of hydropathy. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 51. ... Statistics Province: Munster County Town: Cork Code: C (CK proposed) Area: 7,457 km² Population (2006) 480,909 (including City of Cork); 361,766 (without Cork City) Website: www. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article is about the City of Manchester in England. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Roger Evans is a Conservative Party politician and member of the London Assembly for Havering and Redbridge. ... Marble Arch was originally erected on The Mall, as a gateway to the newly rebuilt Buckingham Palace. ...

The Bowery "Ten Cent Turkish Bath" New York C.1884

During the following 150 years, well over 600 baths opened in Britain, while similar Turkish baths opened in cities in other parts of the then British Empire. Dr. John Le Gay Brereton, who had given medical advice to bathers in a Foreign Affairs Committee-owned Turkish bath in Bradford, travelled to Sydney, Australia, and opened a Turkish bath there in Spring Street in 1859, even before the bath had reached London. Canada had one by 1869, and the first one in New Zealand was opened in 1874. Urquhart's influence was felt even outside the Empire when, in 1863, Dr. Charles Shepard opened the first Turkish bath in the United States at 63 Columbia Street, Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn. Image File history File linksMetadata The_Bowery_-_10_cent_Turkish_Bath. ... Image File history File linksMetadata The_Bowery_-_10_cent_Turkish_Bath. ... Year 1884 (MDCCCLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... For other uses, see Bradford (disambiguation). ... This is about the city of Sydney in Australia. ... Charles Biddle Shepard, (1808 - 1843) was a Congressional Representative from North Carolina; born in New Bern, North Carolina, December 5, 1808; attended private schools of his native city and was graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1827; studied law; was admitted to the bar in... Expensive real estate: Brooklyn Heights in the snow taken from the Promenade, 2003 Brooklyn Heights is a neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn; originally designated through popular reference as Brooklyn Village, it has, since 1834, become a prevalent area of the Brooklyn borough. ... This article is about the borough of New York City. ...

Today there are just over twenty Turkish baths remaining open in the British Isles, although hot-air baths still thrive in the form of Russian steam baths and the Finnish sauna. This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Hammams

• Suleymaniye hamam
• Bath house
• Onsen and sentō, the Japanese equivalents
• Culture of the Ottoman Empire
• Harem
• Köçek
• Ottoman Turkish language
• Soapland
• The Spanish placename Alhama and the Portuguese Alfama derive from the Arabic word.

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... This Turkish Bath consists of three sections. ... A bath house is a place where people bathe. ... Outdoor pool, Naruko Outdoor Onsen on Nakanoshima island in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture Old onsen in Hakone An private outdoor rotenburo in Gorakadan Guidebook to Hakone from 1811 This rotenburo at Jigokudani Onsen is for Japanese Macaques. ... Entrance to the sentō at the Edo Tokyo Open Air Museum Sentō ) is a type of Japanese communal bath house where customers pay for entrance. ... Early on as the Ottoman Turks drove out the Byzantines from Anatolia and later pursued them into Europe, the pursuit was a part of the Jihad (or Holy War) against Christianity, and the first Ottoman rulers called themselves Gazi, or Holy Warriors. ... In traditional Arab culture, the harîm حريم (cf. ... The köçek phenomenon is considered to be one of the most significant symbols of Ottoman Empire culture. ... Ottoman Turkish (Turkish: or , Ottoman Turkish: ‎ ) was the variant of the Turkish language that was used as the administrative and literary language of the Ottoman Empire. ... Soapland ) is a Japanese word for a type of brothel where men can be bathed by and can bathe with female prostitutes. ... Alhama can mean:- Alhama de Granada is a town in the province of Granada in Spain. ... Categories: Portugal geography stubs ...

External links

Hammam History

• Hammams in Islamic tradition (cyberbohemia.com)

Example Hammams

• The historical Turkish hammam in Mugla
• Official website of the Çemberlitaş Hammam in Istanbul
• Official website of the Cağaloğlu Hammam in Istanbul
• Official website of Dar Tamara Hammam in Marrakech
• Titanic's Turkish Baths

Photos of Hammams in muslim and arabic world

• Baths in Iran, Turkey, Morocco, Yemen...
• The last public baths in Cairo : photos taken by Pascal Meunier

Introduction of Turkish baths to Europe

• Comprehensive site on the Victorian Turkish bath