The tradition of the Turkish bath extends far back, to a time before Turks
had reached Anatolia. When theTurks arrived in Anatolia, they brought
with them one bathing tradition, and were confronted with another, that
of Romans and Byzantines, with certain local variants. The traditions
merged, and with the addition of theMoslem concern for cleanliness and
its concomitant respect for the uses of water, there arose an entirely new
concept, that of the Turkish Bath. In time it became an institution, with
its system of ineradicable customs.
For the Turkish bath was much more than just
a place to cleanse the skin. It was intimately
bound up with everyday life, a place where
people of every rank and station, young and
old, rich an poor, townsman or villager, could
come freely. Women as well as men made use
of the "hamam", as the bath is known
inTurkish, although of course at separate hours.
From the individual's point of view, the hamam was a familiar place from
the earliest weeks of life right up to its very end. Important occasions
during a lifespan were, and in some township still are, celebrated with
rejoicing at the bath. The newborn's fortieth day, the brides bathing
complete with food and live music, and the Avowal are instances. The
latter requires some explanation, for it involved the custom common in
Anatolia of making a promise or vow, contingent on the fulfillment of
some important wish. The celebration of this in the hamam was arranged
and paid for by the person fulfilling his vow, and was open to one and
all.
The hamam ceremony of mourning, on the other hand, was far different,
but also widespread. The Hospitality bathing was simply the taking of
one's house-guest to the hamam for a wash. Then there were the
Circumcision, Groom's, and Off-to-the-Army bathings, and others
besides. As we see, the whole culture of a people had the Turkish bath
as one of its important nexuses.
Naturally, there was a range of equipment associated with a hamam visit,
and until recently one might count from 15 to 20 articles in the bundle
which awoman brought along with her. Let's see this bundles:
The "pestemal" (pesh-te-mahl), a large towel fringed at both ends and
wrapped around the torso, from below the armpits to about mid-thigh ,
as the womanmade her way to the "kurna" or marble basin. The
pestemal would be striped or checked, a colored mixture of silk and
cotton, or pure cotton, or even pure silk.
A pair of wooden clogs or patens, in Turkish
"nalin", of which there were many varied types.
Carved exquisitely, these patens kept the wearer's
feet clear of the wet floor. They would be
embellished in a number of ways, most often with
mother-of-pearl, or even sheathed in tooled silver.
They might have jingles, or a woven straw sheath,
or be applied with felt or brass.
The "tas", or bowl for pouring water over the
body, was always of metal. Weather silver, gilt or
tinned copper, or of brass, the tas always had
grooved and inlaid ornamentation.
One finds a soap case of metal, usually copper,
with a handle on top like a handbag, and
perforated at the bottom to allow water to run out.
Not only soap goes into such a case, but also a
coarse mitt for scouring down the skin, a webbing
of date-palm or other fibers for lathering on the
soap, and combs both fine and broad-toothed
made of horn or ivory.
Hamam Bowl&Kurna