Hamam story (Turkish bath)
A Turkish bath (Turkish: hamam, Arabic: حمّام, translit. ḥammām) is a type of public bathing associated with the culture of the Ottoman Empire and more widely the Islamic world. A variation on it as a method of cleansing and relaxation became popular during the Victorian era, and then spread through the British Empire and Western Europe. The buildings are similar to the thermae (Roman baths). Unlike Russian banya, the focus is on water, as distinct from ambient steam.
The process involved in taking a Turkish bath is similar to that of a sauna, but is more closely related to ancient Greek and ancient Roman bathing practices[why?]. It starts with relaxation in a room heated by a continuous flow of hot, dry air, allowing the bather to perspire freely. Bathers may then move to an even hotter room before they wash in cold water. After performing a full body wash and receiving a massage, bathers finally retire to the cooling-room for a period of relaxation.[1]
The difference between the Islamic hammam and the Victorian Turkish bath is the air. The hot air in the Victorian Turkish bath is dry; in the Islamic hammam the air is often steamy. The bather in a Victorian Turkish bath will often take a plunge in a cold pool after the hot rooms; the Islamic hammam usually does not have a pool unless the water is flowing from a spring. In the Islamic hammams the bathers splash themselves with cold water.
The Victorian Turkish bath was described by Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Thudichum[2] in a lecture to the Royal Society of Medicine given in 1861, one year after the first such bath was opened in London:
The discovery that was lost and has been found again, is this, in the fewest possible words: The application of hot air to the human body. It is not wet air, nor moist air, nor vapoury air; it is not vapour in any shape or form whatever. It is an immersion of the whole body in hot common air.
Old City Hamam
Athanasiou Diakou 1
( Next to the
Acropoilis Metro station )
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© Old City Hamam Athens/Acropolis
L i v e t h e O r i g i n a l O l d H a m a m e x p i e r i e n c e
Hamam
Services
Sultan Hamam : 30’
A genuine hamam experience, inspired by the service of Sultan Suleiman. First, exfoliation is performed, removing dead cells from the whole body, using the kese (cup). Then, the whole body is covered in foam from natural soap, and massage and stretches follow. The service concludes with a traditional shower.
Royal Ottoman Hamam : 55’
A genuine hamam experience. First, exfoliation is performed, removing all dead cells from the body with the use of the kese. Then, the body is scrubbed with Turkish coffee and rosewater. After that, the whole body is covered in foam from natural soap, massage and stretches follow, and then a shower. Moreover, for deep skin care, the body is covered with a natural mask made of pure ingredients: honey, sesame, and ground lavender.
Traditional Moroccan experience : 60’
A genuine Moroccan experience, and an authentic taste of Arabic culture. Exfoliation is performed with a hard Moroccan glove, for very deep cleansing of the skin. Then, simultaneous exfoliation and deep moisturizing follow, using salts and Argan oil. the service is concluded with a Rhassoul mask on the whole body.
Traditional self service bath : 60’ [overall duration]
We provide grated natural soap (luffa), conditioner, and towels. You take your bath yourself, with directions from our masseurs.
Hyrem : 10’
For a beautiful face. This service can be combined with Sultan Hamam or Traditional Self-Service Bath. Exfoliation is performed, along with deep facial moisturizing, using a Marrakech mask for cleansing, moisturizing and radiance. Black spots are removed.
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