Post by Fenlander on Sept 15, 2008 1:10:10 GMT 2
If you can’t stand the heat
Quote:
CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON
Temperatures are soaring these days. We all choose to relax in different ways and some still prefer a Turkish bath and massage. Tourists usually like to have a Turkish bath during their visit.
Until I came to Turkey I never knew that a Turkish bath was more than a just a bath.
During the Ottoman Empire it was a place for gossip, for women to choose future daughters-in-law and for men to clinch business deals.
Some foreigners thoroughly enjoy the experience, but others find it intrusive and uncomfortable.
Sally wrote to me about an experience she had recently.
Dear Charlotte, my Turkish in-laws wanted to take me to have a Turkish bath and I went because I had heard so much about them, but I found the experience uncomfortable. I thought the attendant who scrubbed me down was very rough. I thought she was going to bruise me. I also felt everyone was looking at me. I am one of those people who likes my privacy and did not really enjoy the group outing. I did not want to offend my relatives so I pretended it was an enjoyable time. I don’t understand the origin and concept of “hamam.” Could you enlighten me? Yours, scrubbed to the bone, Sally.
Dear Sally, for those of us from the US who have grown up with the idea of private baths it is hard to get our minds around the concept of the hamam (the Turkish word for the traditional bath house). The bath house had many purposes: don’t just think of it as a quick dash to the shower to get clean. Just like the Roman bath it is a time to sit and relax, to make new friends and to gossip for hours with old ones. In Ottoman times women would drink coffee or sherbet (a drink like lemonade) as they whiled away time at the hamam. They could have their hair braided into the latest fashions. The hamam also doubled as a waxing parlor or nail salon.
Turks believe that bath water should be running, for to sit in a bathtub of water is unclean. So the hamam has lots of separate washing areas, and you pour water over yourself with a bowl. I understand what you are saying about the massage. I prefer not to have a pummel and a vigorous massage by a strong-gripped masseuse, but it is optional. What is great is the exfoliation, where they rub off the dead layer of skin: you feel so clean afterwards. Maybe you could just ask for this bit of the treatment.
You did very well to not show that you did not enjoy the experience. Your in-laws wanted to treat you and give you a special time. Well done!
The hamam probably doesn’t feel so different for people from some European countries, where they are used to communal baths. In Finland it is not uncommon to dash a few yards from the sauna door to immerse yourself in a freezing cold lake. Sometimes this is even an activity for men and women together.
Let me give a few tips to our Today’s Zaman readers who may be planning to go to the hamam. Men and women have separate sections. You will be given the bathing essentials when you begin to undress: a large towel (”peºtamal”), special wooden block shoes and bowl. You should bring your own soap. You undress as much as you are comfortable, but copy your Turkish friends too. Often ladies keep their panties on -- you may prefer to take a bikini or swimsuit with you if you don’t feel comfortable letting strangers see you in your undies. Wrap the peºtamal around you before you exit the changing area: you can tie it in a knot and it will hold tight. It can take a bit of practice to learn how to walk on the special shoes -- you may perform a replay of top model Naomi Campbell falling on the catwalk when she was walking in platform shoes!
In the bathing room it is very steamy. You sit in front of a traditional basin with hot and cold faucets and fill your bowl and pour the water over yourself. There is a special technique to help you exfoliate: do not put soap on yourself at this stage. Get yourself very wet with hot water. Then if you rub your skin in a circular movement with a massage pad (kese), you will see little balls of dead skin rubbing off. Rinse these with more hot water, and repeat the process until your skin is glowing and healthy. Then you can add soap and wash your new layer of fresh skin, and pamper yourself with lotions.
In the steam room you can have a massage while lying on a slab of marble that is heated underneath. The whole bath area has under-floor heating. Don’t forget the “göbek taº” is the hottest. This stone is immediately above the furnace, and is where you lie if you really want to sweat. There is also a Turkish custom that says if you want to get pregnant, you should sit on the göbek taº for a good long while.
A Turkish proverb says it all: “hamama giren terler,” meaning, “he who goes into a hamam will sweat” -- or, in more familiar words, “if you don’t like the heat, get out of the kitchen!”
Note: Keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
Source: Todays Zaman
Quote:
CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON
Temperatures are soaring these days. We all choose to relax in different ways and some still prefer a Turkish bath and massage. Tourists usually like to have a Turkish bath during their visit.
Until I came to Turkey I never knew that a Turkish bath was more than a just a bath.
During the Ottoman Empire it was a place for gossip, for women to choose future daughters-in-law and for men to clinch business deals.
Some foreigners thoroughly enjoy the experience, but others find it intrusive and uncomfortable.
Sally wrote to me about an experience she had recently.
Dear Charlotte, my Turkish in-laws wanted to take me to have a Turkish bath and I went because I had heard so much about them, but I found the experience uncomfortable. I thought the attendant who scrubbed me down was very rough. I thought she was going to bruise me. I also felt everyone was looking at me. I am one of those people who likes my privacy and did not really enjoy the group outing. I did not want to offend my relatives so I pretended it was an enjoyable time. I don’t understand the origin and concept of “hamam.” Could you enlighten me? Yours, scrubbed to the bone, Sally.
Dear Sally, for those of us from the US who have grown up with the idea of private baths it is hard to get our minds around the concept of the hamam (the Turkish word for the traditional bath house). The bath house had many purposes: don’t just think of it as a quick dash to the shower to get clean. Just like the Roman bath it is a time to sit and relax, to make new friends and to gossip for hours with old ones. In Ottoman times women would drink coffee or sherbet (a drink like lemonade) as they whiled away time at the hamam. They could have their hair braided into the latest fashions. The hamam also doubled as a waxing parlor or nail salon.
Turks believe that bath water should be running, for to sit in a bathtub of water is unclean. So the hamam has lots of separate washing areas, and you pour water over yourself with a bowl. I understand what you are saying about the massage. I prefer not to have a pummel and a vigorous massage by a strong-gripped masseuse, but it is optional. What is great is the exfoliation, where they rub off the dead layer of skin: you feel so clean afterwards. Maybe you could just ask for this bit of the treatment.
You did very well to not show that you did not enjoy the experience. Your in-laws wanted to treat you and give you a special time. Well done!
The hamam probably doesn’t feel so different for people from some European countries, where they are used to communal baths. In Finland it is not uncommon to dash a few yards from the sauna door to immerse yourself in a freezing cold lake. Sometimes this is even an activity for men and women together.
Let me give a few tips to our Today’s Zaman readers who may be planning to go to the hamam. Men and women have separate sections. You will be given the bathing essentials when you begin to undress: a large towel (”peºtamal”), special wooden block shoes and bowl. You should bring your own soap. You undress as much as you are comfortable, but copy your Turkish friends too. Often ladies keep their panties on -- you may prefer to take a bikini or swimsuit with you if you don’t feel comfortable letting strangers see you in your undies. Wrap the peºtamal around you before you exit the changing area: you can tie it in a knot and it will hold tight. It can take a bit of practice to learn how to walk on the special shoes -- you may perform a replay of top model Naomi Campbell falling on the catwalk when she was walking in platform shoes!
In the bathing room it is very steamy. You sit in front of a traditional basin with hot and cold faucets and fill your bowl and pour the water over yourself. There is a special technique to help you exfoliate: do not put soap on yourself at this stage. Get yourself very wet with hot water. Then if you rub your skin in a circular movement with a massage pad (kese), you will see little balls of dead skin rubbing off. Rinse these with more hot water, and repeat the process until your skin is glowing and healthy. Then you can add soap and wash your new layer of fresh skin, and pamper yourself with lotions.
In the steam room you can have a massage while lying on a slab of marble that is heated underneath. The whole bath area has under-floor heating. Don’t forget the “göbek taº” is the hottest. This stone is immediately above the furnace, and is where you lie if you really want to sweat. There is also a Turkish custom that says if you want to get pregnant, you should sit on the göbek taº for a good long while.
A Turkish proverb says it all: “hamama giren terler,” meaning, “he who goes into a hamam will sweat” -- or, in more familiar words, “if you don’t like the heat, get out of the kitchen!”
Note: Keep your questions and observations coming: I want to ensure this column is a help to you, Today’s Zaman’s readers. Email: c.mcpherson@todayszaman.com
Source: Todays Zaman