The ritual of cleaning oneself by means of applying water in accompaniment with various other supplements like soaps and cleansers is referred to as bathing. It is necessary to note that while bathing is the commonest mode of cleaning the external parts of the body for essentially hygienic purposes, bathing is also a significant feature of various religious rituals and also can be used for therapeutic purposes. For example, hydrotherapy refers to a form of bathing by means of which one can attain therapeutic benefits. It is important to point out that there are various forms of bathing of which hot sauna baths are very popular and are increasingly being offered in spas and resorts as they provide various healing effects and relaxation. The Turkish bath refers to a kind of steam bath and is a specialty of the Middle East regions. Turkish bath is integral to the cultural life and practices of the Middle East as it is prevalently used in social celebrations and for religious purposes as a mode of cleansing. In the west, the idea of the Turkish bath came to be known post the interaction of the Europeans with the Ottoman Turks. However it was during the Victorian period that the practice of the process of Turkish bath as a mode of relaxation and cleansing came to be practiced in vogue among the west Europeans. The Turkish bath is also popularly referred as ‘Hamam' and it means hot spring or heat. It is also quite interesting to note that the Turkish bath has been observed to be quite similar in terns of architectural style as well as practice with the roman bathing patterns. Therefore similar to the roman style, a Turkish bath comprises of three interconnected rooms and some of the earliest specimens of the Turkish bath date back to the 16 th century.



In case of indulging in a Turkish bath, the individual is first and foremost required to relax in a room which is filled hot and dry air ventilated properly to allow the person to breathe freely without any obstacle. This room is referred to as the 'warm room'. After a while the bather is required to enter the ‘hot room' which has an even more hotter atmosphere where he stays for sometime before indulging ion a cold water bath. Following the bath, the individual is also entitled to receive a massage and in medieval times these attendants who provided massages where known as ‘tellaks'. Finally, they retire in the cooling room for leisure.