Turkish baths and their characteristics
Turkish baths have three main parts:
- Changing rooms:
There is a large anteroom around which there are private cubicles. Bathers can lie in these private cubicles and rest.
- Bathing areas
There is the cool room which leads to the bath section. Here there are other sections: The marble basin where everyone is washed one by one, the bathing cubicles where you can wash individually. Then there is the hot stone on which you can lie and perspire. Here there is a raised area made of marble with various geometric shapes.
- The Furnace
Underneath the bath there is a furnace where a fire is located. The rising flames and smoke from the fire go through special areas, through walls and then pass out of the vertical ceramic smoke pipes.
On the water boiler which sits on top of the furnace is a cool water dept. At the bottom of the furnace there several canals that go from the bathing area of the bath to the marble stone. The flames and smoke from the wood burning in the furnace go through the canals under the marble stone. The place underneath the marble stone is called 'hell' because it is dark and hot.
The baths in the bazaars have special days for women and other days for men. Double baths contain two baths side by side, one for women and the other for men. These baths are open every day.
The baths in Istanbul are world famous. There are some ancient baths such as Beyazit, Çemberlitaş, Hoca Paşa, Fındıklı, Fatih'te Mehmedağa baths. There were also some baths that could not survive time that have been destroyed. Especially there are almost no mansion baths left today. Only palace baths (Topkapi and Dolmabahce) as architectural monuments from different periods embellish Istanbul today. Other than these, there are Bursa's famous natural hot sulfuric water thermal spring baths, Gonen's thermal baths and other thermal springs and normal baths dotting every part of Turkey.
Another aspect of Turkish baths is the existence of the Finnish baths that are based on steam baths. Today in the world of sport to perspire quickly and lose weight is a benefit of using these baths. This is the reason that all athletes can benefit from Turkish baths.
The Health Benefits of Baths
Baths are the best place to wash your body and get it clean with soap and hot water as long as one does not stay there for too long of time. The body that perspires in the bath, when washed and massaged with a cloth or sponge, facilitates blood circulation providing relaxation. Massaging the body with frictional lufas, can cause sores on the skin. This should be avoided.
Those that wash in baths should obey etiquette. Moreover, staying to long in baths going from hot to cold, cold to hot from time to time can be harmful to the body. It is dangerous for people with heart and circulation problems, high blood pressure and TB to bath in very hot water. Staying too long in hot water can cause blood to rush to the brain and can cause bleeding in the lungs for those afflicted with TB. It is also possible to catch pneumonia if you catch cold and do not take care of yourself after baths. For those that take care, baths have no harm and many benefits.