Life in a tub; with a description of the Turkish bathDiogenes [pseudonym]
Science
Life in a tub; with a description of the Turkish bath
Diogenes [pseudonym]
Baths, Turkish; Hydrotherapy
The bath consists of three apartments, communicating with each other,
each being dedicated to a special purpose. The first, or
cooling-chamber, consists of a good-sized room, which may or may not be
open to the heavens; but this condition is essential to it, that it be
well ventilated, with a free current of cool air passing through it. In
this room are placed sofas and reclining couches; and here the bather
divests himself of his clothes, and places his feet in wooden clogs,
previous to his entering the bath, the first act of which is enacted in
the second or middle chamber.
This middle chamber consists of a room fitted with marble slabs, and
mattresses to recline on; the ceiling being arched, and light
transmitted from above through stars of stained glass, spreading a
tinted gloom through the apartment, which effectually cuts off the mind
from all communication with the outer world, disposing it to rest or
quiet meditation—a frame of mind peculiarly desirable for those who
medicinally [26] seek the bath. After reclining in the apartment for
about half-an-hour or three quarters, according to the temperature,
which varies from 90° to 100° Faht., until the surface of the body
becomes soft and moist, and the pores slightly excited, you enter the
third, or heated apartment, the Sudatorium [27] of the Romans. Under a
roof similar to the one already described, are arranged seats of
marble, together with a large platform of the same material, which is
placed in the centre of the apartment, whilst along the walls are
ranged marble basins, supplied by pipes with hot and cold water. In
this chamber, the temperature of which varies from 130° to 150° Faht.,
shampooing, an essential part of the bath, is performed, a description
of which process we will borrow from Mr. Urquhart’s interesting
pamphlet. Having placed the bather on the marble platform, he thus
describes the process:—
“The cloths are taken from your head and shoulders; one is spread
for you to lie on, the other is rolled for your head. You lie down
on your back, the tellak (bath attendant) kneels at your side, and
bending over, gripes and presses your chest, arms, and legs,
passing from part to part like a bird shifting its place on a
perch. He brings his whole weight on you with a jerk; follows the
line of muscle with anatomical thumb; draws the open hand strongly
over the surface, particularly round the shoulder, turning you half
up in so doing; stands with his feet on the thighs and on the
chest, and slips down the ribs; then up again three times, and,
lastly, doubling your arms, one after the other, on the chest,
pushes with both hands down, beginning at the elbow, and then
putting an arm under the back and applying his chest to your
crossed elbows, rolls on you across till you crack.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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