The Importance of Hammam for Women in History

Turkish baths that was built with the purpose of the water use for health is not only a cleaning place for Turks. Hammams are also health and entertainment centers where people having social activities. In the Ottoman period, women’s life was going through at home or in the seraglio. To leave out lonely for women was strictly forbidden with religious grounds. The only place that women could go without their fathers or husbands was hammam.

Therefore, hammam was a very important social intercourse ambient for them. Women’s hammam visits were more multitudinous then men’s. In these special days, the home-made meals were taken to the hammam. While going to the Turkish bath, the women also were taking the Turkish work of pestemal, silver bath bowl, kohl and mirror and make-up materials with them. Special drinks and meals such as Turkish Coffee, Turkish Delight, pickle and boza were being offered to the customers in the hammam.

There is dervish’s marble basin, almost in all of the women’s hammams. Women pray and make wishes in front of this marble basin.