Turkish,Baths,Turkey,Imagine,t travel,insurance Turkish Baths In Turkey
Like any American, traveling occasionally is just what I love doing and I bet you share the same stuff with me. But traveling does not mean that you would be safe. Escaping from our job and other stressful activities is just something that w Torres del Paine is among the biggest of Chiles national parks, occupying almost 600,000 acres (242,000 ha) of land in the south on the border with Argentina. It is also among the most important, receiving a significant proportion of domes
Imagine this; youre walking down the high street and youbump into an old friend. How are you doing? she asks.How am I doing what? You know, how are you getting along. I havent seen you ina while.Im fine and you blah,blah,blah, and so it goes on untilsuddenly you ask Fancy having a bath with me tonight? Love to, she says see you around eight-thirty. This would have been normal behaviour amongst the Ottomansthat seized Istanbul, or Byzantium as it was then known. Hamams(Baths) were already in the city before Mehmed II took control, but rather thandestroy the legacy left by the Romans, he decided to use the parts that pleasedhim, especially the baths. Dont forget your towel, you say as you part.No I wont. As is often the case in Turkey, things arent quite whatthey seem. You see, Turkish Baths were either copied from Roman or Greekdesigns or are simply Byzantium Baths rebuilt, however it was the Ottomans whoelevated the idea from a place for a quick scrub, to a must visit venue for anyaspiring socialite. With Islamic law overseeing society, the baths served asplaces of entertainment, as well as being a shop window for young girls to showoff their..erm..goods, to prospective future Mothers-in Law. I must quickly addat this juncture that men and women used separate facilities, although inmodern times there are many mixed Hamams. And your henna, you remind your friend as a parting shot.No, no problem, Ill bring it. The Hamams also became an indispensible part of religiousculture. The Koran states that cleanliness is imperative, in fact the Hanafibranch of Islam, which takes in the Sunni Turks, requires that all body hair beremoved, and I mean all. Women were apt to use a hair removing ointment calledRusma, which incidentally, contains arsenic, however at the time of Ottoman rule, hair removal was a moreimportant issue for men. A female concubine was employed to remove body hair fromwomen, so it was down to the baths for wax and a chat, and quite often it wouldtake all day. Even wealthy women who had their own hamam in their home would occasionallypop into the local to find out what had been happening. And your brush, you cry, not wishing her to arrive illequipped. Righto, see you later. The women who kept their hair, would wrap in a linen clothand arrange their eyebrows, or dye their hair. There was much to do and it wasntunusual for people to take their pets along, or a troop of belly dancers tokeep them entertained. The situation arose that husbands disapproved of theirwives visiting public hamams, but the lady of the house simply had to citereligious reasons, and the need to stay virtuous by washing, to get her way, sothe tradition continued. Your Cretan Soap, I nearly forgot.I didnt. shes beginning to sound a miffed by now. It is said that there were more than 4,500 private hamamsand 300 public ones in 17th century Istanbul, and even more appeared in thefollowing century. Today, the ones that remain are very special places indeed.If you fancy a visit to remove the grime and fatigue from your body aftertravelling, you will be able to choose from a self service wash, a wash with anattendant or a wash and oil massage. First you undress and don your towel andfootwear, before you make your way to the Hamam, where you are left a while tosweat (some of us are better at this than others). Later, your attendant willarrive and give you a rinse with tepid water before setting about you. Firstits the dry massage, then the soap, and then a rinse again; its a bit like acar wash really. Then the shampoo comes out before you are hosed down again. Ifyouve gone for the full service, itll now be time to be oiled up andmassaged. After the massage, you may wish to take your time and relax a little;no-ones going to push you out of the door. The servants, we cant go without the servants. Yourepleased with yourself that youve remembered this vital addition to the list.Oh put a sock in it will you. Im staying in and washing myhair. I hope I havent put you off visiting a Turkish bath, andwhat better place could there be to enjoy the experience, than in Turkey.
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