Historical and health benefits of Turkish baths and peshtamal. Information about pesthamal and turkish baths.

1. The
importance
of bath in
Turkish life

2. For centuries Turkish hamam continues to exist as one of the major components of the Ottoman and
Turkish hammam culture with its pestemal, rubber, large and bright dome and unique architectural
beauty.
Hammam that was built with the purpose of the water use for health is not only a cleaning place for
Turks. Turkish hammam is also health and entertainment center where people having social activities.
Turkish hamam is the home of the tradition of physical and spiritual purification. The body and skin is
cleaned and they are purified from toxins, the blood circulation increases, immune system is stimulated
so that the physical and mental system is supported with Turkish bath.
With these features, Turkish hamam is also center of attraction for the people from other countries who
visited Turkey.

3. History of hamam and architecture of the Turkish Hamam is the special
branche of science and art to be examined as meticulously. The Haseki
Hurrem Turkish Hammam, The Tiled Turkish Bath, The Cemberlitas
Istanbul Hammam, The Cagaloglu Turkish Hammam, The Kilic Ali Pasha
Istanbul Hamam, The Galatasaray Istanbul Hamam, Grand Hamam and
The Suleymaniye Hamam -which have been restored in accordance with
the original buildings-, are the most beautiful examples of the
construction of large domed Turkish hammam. At the same time these
are the best Istanbul Hammams.
There are number of accessories that specific to the Istanbul Turkish bath
and are still used in. The bath gloves that made of palm root and the
Turkish work of pestemals are the most indispensables of them. Also the
pumice stone which, used to rub the feet is always available in the
hamam package. Inlaid copper, silver or brass bath bowl is one of the
most beautiful examples of handwork.

4. What are the effects of The
Turkish Hamam
to the health?

5. Turkish bath is the place that should be used for health;
Turkish hammam is the home of the tradition of physical and spiritual purification. The body
and skin are cleaned and they are purified from toxins, the blood circulation increases,
immune system is stimulated so that the physical and mental system is supported with
hammam. There are two types of Turkish baths in terms of the water used in. These are
Turkish baths that working with artificial heating water and the spas that working with natural
hot water.
The healing hot spring water contains sulfur and salt. That's why thermal spas are used in
the treatment of rheumatic diseases, skin diseases and nervous breakdown.
Read about Turkish Hamam and health

6. Peshtemal

7. What is Peshtemal?
Peshtemal is a woven cloth that used to cover the body in hammam or bath, or wrapped
from the waist to prevent contamination of clothes while working.
Peshtemal has reached to the present from the historic Turkish hammam era. It has a
history of nearly six hundred years in Anatolia.

8. How is produced Peshtemal?
Pestemal is a handicraft. Throughout history this Turkish towel was produced by weaving
on hand looms by women in Turkey's eastern Black Sea and Aegean regions. Nowadays,
pestemal is woven on advanced looms, because of the widespread use of electricity.
It produced by hand labor. It has got a rich color harmony. There are distinctive patterns on
this Turkish type bath towel. Pestemal is also traditional clothes that used by all persons,
old or young, especially, in the Black Sea region. Colors, represents the inhabited region of
the person who wearing it.
The silk pestemal called as Fota. However, pestemal is usually woven by linen yarn or cotton
yarn.

9. Where and how to use Peshtemal?
Pestemal primarily used as hamam towel in Anatolia. Sultans of the Ottoman dynasty were also
wearing pestemal in the hammam.
According to the ancient Turkish traditions when a couple decided to marry they were giving to
each other bath set as a gift. Pestemal was the most indispensable piece of this set.
This Turkish hand-woven has also been used for clothing in the old days. Even said that peshtemal
has arisen as the main apparel of humanity. Later both was changed the form and was varied.
Nowadays, pestemal used as bath towels an as bathrobe at beaches, in saunas, baths and Turkish
hammams. Women wrap the pestemal from the armpit and men wrap from the waist.
It is preferred in travel because of being thin and light and also very easy to dry.
t is absorptive as terrycloth. Peshtemal also used as authentic beach pareo as well as it used as
beach towel.
Peshtemal that succeeded in being the trend of recent times, after the beaches of Turkey began to
be used on the world-famous beaches such as St. Tropez and Cannes. In these days a lot of
celebrities seem with pestemal on the beaches.
Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore, Robert De Niro, Steven Spielberg and Bill Gates among the
celebrities that use Pestemal in the beaches. At the same time pestemal is used as home textiles
such as table cloth or seat cover.

10. Some expressions about Peshtemal;
In Ottoman period; a ceremony was organized to wrap Peshtemal for the person that
rising from the level of apprenticeship to the level of mastery by learning a craft in an
artisans' guild. After this ceremony, the master that wrapped pestemal was renting a shop
and he was paying goodwill (pestemallık) to the owner.
What is the meaning of having dream about peshtemal; if an unmarried young girl
wrapped Peshtemal on her dream this means that she will marry soon. If the peshtemal is
clean and good the marital will give happiness.
If someone dreams about Peshtemal who's already married, this is a sign of his/ her prestige
will increase.