ANCIENT TRADITION
History shows that the ancient Greeks and Romans took pleasure in visiting their public bathhouses. The ancient bathhouses played a vital role in maintaining personal hygiene and at the same time provided an alternative meeting place for people to meet and exchange ideas.
THE ROMAN BATH
Ein typisches römisches Bad besass Umkleideräume, einen Schwitzraum, sowie Kalt- und Warmwasserbecken neben einem mässig warmen Raum wo man sich einölen und massieren lassen konnte. In der römischen Kaiserzeit entstanden riesige luxuriöse Bäder mit Marmor-und Mosaikböden und Malereien ausgestattet, welche auch „Thermen“ benannt wurden, die mit weiteren Einrichtungen wie Sportanlagen und Geschäften kombiniert wurden.
THE HAMAM
Through the Arabian conquest of the Roman Byzantine Empire the Roman baths remained and were modified to suit the Arabian cultural identity.
The sweat room became the central pillar in the Islamic bath culture and due to religious reasons flowing water was preferred over the use of still bathing pools.
Die „Hamams“ wie die Bäder bis heute genannt werden sind kleiner als die römischen Bäder und verfügen über einen Umkleideraum, einen mässig warmen und einen heissen Raum mit einem Schwitzstein in der Mitte sowie Wasserhähnen mit kaltem Wasser zum abkühlen.
Other important elements during the bathing ritual in the hamam are the famous soap massage and the peeling scrub with a Kese – a pouch like peeling cloth. Traditional attire in a hamam is the flat woven towel wrapped around the body known as a pestemal. The modern pestemals that make up the treatyouTowels collection have their origins from these ancient towels.
The occidental Hamams also served as an important cultural center for social interactions and exchanges much like their Roman counterparts.
TODAY’S WEAVING TRADITION
In modern Turkey the bath house culture of those early Hamams has evolved into a modern spa culture which is a popular attraction for tourists. Turkish people from all walks of life revere their hamams as a place to recharge their energies in a peaceful environment. The locals on the other hand visit them as a place of peace and to recharge their energies.