Today, baths serve to fulfill the activity of self-cleaning in a private manner. Most people in North America have the luxury of having their own bathroom in their residences, a bathroom that they don’t have to share with anyone but perhaps close family members living in the house. Can you imagine that not so long ago, on the other side of the ocean, baths were a public activity, shared by the people of an entire community, as a way of cleaning but mostly a way of socializing and interacting with one another. While the Greeks and the Romans had their own style of public baths, the Ottoman Empire treasured their own “hammam”, a public steam bath that can still be found around the Middle East even today. Europe was introduced to the hammam thanks to Turkey and today many of us still call hammam, “Turskish baths”.
The hammam was a place for ritual bathing where people from all social statuses blended together and were able to socialize far away from the standard class distinction prejudices. Yet, it is important to state that these baths were divided by gender, both sexes attended at different hours or were simply introduced into separate baths. A bathing session starts with individuals warming up in a steam room so their bodies can slowly get use to the temperature before they entre the hot room. In Turkish tradition, the hammam was an important ritualistic activity that marked the passing of time in an individual’s life. Important occurrences like a wedding or the newborn’s fortieth day, were all celebrated with a symbolic bath at the hammam. When going to the hammam, the bride had to wear a particular costume, “a vest and paire of loose trousers (the shalvar) made of fine felt cloth. The gift from the family of the groom would be worn going to and coming back home from the bath on that special day of the marriage” (Source: http://www.allaboutturkey.com/hamam.htm). The bride would also wear a silk robe, similar to the Japanese kimono, in which the bride would site on a kind of throne at the bath. In addition, the baths are also part of the Islamic ritual of ablution insofar “Muslims wash distinct parts of their body before their daily prayers” (Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/21/AR2006072100503.html). These Turkish baths have an important historical ans symbolic value since they were testimonies of the most important rituals in the lives of Middle East civilizations.
With the passing of time and the arrival of modernization, most hammams are known as real socializing centers. High-end hotels in the Middle East often have the solitary and private version of a hammam. Today, the quality in service varies tremendously from hammam to hammam. While some are “undeniably dirty, others are hospital-clean and modern, such as Majorelle, now owned by fashion designer Yves Saint-Laurent” (Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/21/AR2006072100503.html).
A couple of years ago, in Morocco, archeologists discovered the remains of an ancient hammam that is estimated to be one of the earliest of its kind. Scientists have estimated that it was built around the late 10th century and measure around 13 meters by 13 meters. After years of work, the hammam is now clean and appears to be in stable conditions. The U.S. State Department’s Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation decided to support the project and to help prepare the historical treasure for the arrival of visitors. According to archeologists, for close to 500 years the hammam served its purpose as a bathouse. Yet, for a mysterious reason, it got converted into a pottery factory and was later abandoned. In order to increase funding for the project various brochures have been printed and distributed to promote the site as a heritage for Morocco and the entire Middle East.
Today you can visit authentic olden hammam in the Middle East or you can attend a modern day hammam that offer the latest and most up to date spa treatments while providing a unique atmosphere of the olden day traditions of the Islamic tradition. This unique bathing experience is worth experimenting if you plan to visit the beautiful city of Marrakech, you can attended the Bain Majorelle and be part of an important ritual of the past and present.
