The Turkish bath or hamam as it is known has been around for thousands of years, it is thought that it first came when the rulers of turkey was the Romans. The Seljuk’s and Ottomans built large Turkish baths in some of the most populated areas of Turkey for the Turkish people to use, this was because the Turkish people did not have baths in there homes so they would go to the local bath.

A visit to the Turkish baths these days is a day out for the Turkish who often take a picnic with them to eat after bathing, the Turkish baths is an enjoyable luxury which is used as a method of cleansing the body and used for the relaxation of the body, which most people visit the baths at least once in there lifetime.

For the Turkish people it was more than just a place to cleanse the skin, it became a way of life, a place where everyone came no matter who you was, where you lived or whether you was man, woman or child, of course women had separate times in the baths to men. The Turkish bath was a familiar place to go during the earliest year’s right up to the present day. The Turkish mark special occasions during ones times life in which they celebrate a newborns fortieth day and a brides bathing before marriage with food and live music, and the avowal of a promise, a contingent on the fulfilment of some important wish, for which is was a custom in Anatolia.

It was not a place where believers could fulfil the Islamic perception of cleanliness. It was a place in which to mingle, socialize and gossip. Women would proceed from their harem to the hamam with great ceremony, accompanied by servants heavily-laden with delicacies to tide the ladies over the hours they would spend lounging in the steam. The young women used this opportunity to show off their ornately embroidered towels and ivory inlaid slippers, not to mention their youthful figures, while older women would spot potential wives for their sons. Men would discuss the latest court scandal or talk business and politics.

When you leave the Turkish baths you will feel as if you have been to heaven, an invigorating Turkish Delightful Experience. If you want to keep your suntan longer then have a Turkish bath when you arrive in Fethiye to prepare your skin for a deep suntan, or half way through to stop you peeling for when you get home for a longer lasting suntan.

Experience the true Turkish baths while in Fethiye in Traditional style, working your way from warm, to hot, to an enjoyable furnace. Then have a body scrub, to clean your body. It will never feel so clean again!!! You can have a shower and stay in the hot room for a short while you are waiting for your soap massage which will unlock all the tight muscles in your body and make you feel re-born, shower again and have a cup of tea with your new found friends. Finish off the experience with a rose oil massage.

The process of the Turkish bath in Turkey

When you enter you will be given a cubicle in which you take off your clothes and wear the loin cloth provided by the staff. You should never take off this cloth and go naked in the Turkish bath as this is considered rude, although it’s quite acceptable to wash your private parts from underneath the loin cloth. After changing you will be taken to the hot room of the Turkish bath in which you just relax and work up a sweat while your muscles loosen up. If you want, there will be a member of staff in the Turkish bath who will give you a Turkish massage. After the hot room you go to the warm room of the Turkish bath where you can either wash yourself or a staff member will scrub you down using Turkish soap and a special cloth that gets out all your old skin blocking your pores. Once this has finished you are taken to the cool room and given lots of towels to wrap yourself in. Here you can just relax and order some tea or any other drink that’s available. If you’re feeling tired you can even go back to your cubicle for a nap.

The Old Turkish Bath in Fethiye, together with the Mosque situated nearby, were built by Yavuz Sultan Selim in the 16th Century.

Come to this fine example of Ottoman architecture and enjoy an original Turkish bath coupled with traditional Turkish hospitality.

Post from: Fethiye Bay - Local English Newspaper

The Turkish Baths (Hamam)