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Sentō (銭湯) is a type of Japanese communal bathhouse where customers pay for entrance. Traditionally these bathhouses have been quite utilitarian, with a tall barrier separating the sexes within one large room, a minimum of lined up faucets on both sides, and a single large bath for the already washed bathers to sit in among others. Since the second half of the 20th century, these communal bathhouses have been decreasing in numbers as more and more Japanese residences now have baths. Some Japanese find social importance in going to public baths, out of the theory that physical proximity/intimacy brings emotional intimacy, which is termed skinship in pseudo-English Japanese. Others go to a sentō because they live in a small housing facility without a private bath or to enjoy bathing in a spacious room and to relax in saunas or jet baths that often accompany new or renovated sentōs.
A hammam is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited from the model of the Roman thermae. Muslim bathhouses or hammams are historically found across the Middle East, North Africa, al-Andalus, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and in Southeastern Europe under Ottoman rule. A variation on the Muslim bathhouse, the Victorian Turkish bath, became popular as a therapy, a method of cleansing, and a place for relaxation during the Victorian era, rapidly spreading through the British Empire, the United States of America, and Western Europe.
A gay bathhouse, also known as a gay sauna or a gay steambath , is a commercial space for gay, bisexual, and other men to have sex with men. In gay slang, a bathhouse may be called just "the baths", "the sauna", or "the tubs". In general, a gay bath is used for having sexual activity rather than only bathing.
Bathing is the washing of the body with a liquid, usually water or an aqueous solution, or the immersion of the body in water. It may be practiced for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes. By analogy, especially as a recreational activity, the term is also applied to sun bathing and sea bathing.
Public baths originated at a time when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they often have been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other criteria. In addition to their hygienic function, public baths also have served as social meeting places. They sometimes have included saunas, massages, and other relaxation therapies, such as are found in modern day spas. As the percentage of dwellings containing a private bathroom has increased in some societies, the need for public baths has diminished, and they are now almost exclusively used for recreational purposes.
Qusayr 'Amra or Quseir Amra, lit. "small qasr of 'Amra", sometimes also named Qasr Amra, is the best-known of the desert castles located in present-day eastern Jordan. It was built some time between 723 and 743, by Walid Ibn Yazid, the future Umayyad caliph Walid II, whose dominance of the region was rising at the time. It is considered one of the most important examples of early Islamic art and architecture.
A banya is originally a Russian steam bath with a wood stove. It is considered an important part of Russian culture. The bath takes place in a small room or building designed for dry or wet heat sessions. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. Genders were traditionally segregated in the banya, with separate rooms for the sexes.
In human genetics, Haplogroup J-M172 or J2 is a Y-chromosome haplogroup which is a subclade (branch) of haplogroup J-M304. Haplogroup J-M172 is common in modern populations in Western Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Europe, Northwestern Iran and North Africa. It is thought that J-M172 may have originated between the Mesopotamia, Levant and/or Iran.
The Continental Baths was a gay bathhouse in the basement of The Ansonia Hotel in New York City, which was opened in 1968 by Steve Ostrow. It was advertised as reminiscent of "the glory of ancient Rome". The documentary film Continental by Malcolm Ingram covers the height of the club's popularity through the early 1970s.
The Hagia Sophia Hurrem Sultan Bathhouse, is a sixteenth-century Turkish bath (hamam) in Istanbul, Turkey. It was commissioned by Hurrem Sultan, consort and wife of the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. It was designed by Mimar Sinan on the site of the historical Baths of Zeuxippus for the religious community of the nearby Hagia Sophia.
The Everard Baths or Everard Spa Turkish Bathhouse was a gay bathhouse at 28 West 28th Street in New York City that operated from 1888 to 1986. The venue occupied an adaptively reused church building and was the site of a deadly fire.
Hammam al-Sarah is an Umayyad bathhouse (hammam) in Jordan, built in connection with the complex of Qasr al-Hallabat, which stands some 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the west. Along with examples in the other desert castles of Jordan, it is one of the oldest surviving remains of a Muslim bathhouse.
A Turkish bath is an English term used both for the hammam, the traditional steam baths of Islamic culture, and the Banya (sauna) of Russia.
Horatio Nelson Goulty was an English architect. He designed several buildings in Brighton and was an important figure in the town's public affairs in the early Victorian era.
The Shahi Hammam, also known as the Wazir Khan Hammam, is a Persian-style bath which was built in Lahore, Pakistan, in 1635 C.E. during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan. It was built by chief physician to the Mughal Court, Ilam-ud-din Ansari, who was widely known as Wazir Khan. The baths were built to serve as a waqf, or endowment, for the maintenance of the Wazir Khan Mosque.
Victorian Turkish bath or simply Turkish bath is a type of public bathhouse which was derived from the hammam (bathhouse) of the Islamic world and those Roman baths which used hot dry air. It became popular as a therapy, a method of cleansing, and a place for relaxation during the Victorian era, rapidly spreading through the British Empire, the United States of America, and Western Europe.
The Bayezid II Hamam is a historic bathhouse (hamam) in Istanbul, Turkey. It is one of the largest hamams in the city. It was historically part of the külliye of the Bayezid II Mosque located nearby. The hamam is located on Divanyolu Street, a short distance west of the mosque.
The Hammam of Sultan Inal is a historic hammam in Cairo, Egypt. It is located in the Bayn al-Qasrayn area, on al-Mu'izz street, in the historic center of Cairo. The hammam was commissioned by Sultan Inal and built in 1456, during the Mamluk period. It is one of the few well-preserved hammams in Cairo out of the nearly 80 that existed by the end of the 19th century. It recently underwent a multi-year restoration and is now open to visitors as a historic monument.
The Turkish Baths was a Victorian Turkish bath on Lincoln Place, Dublin.
References
- Meunier, Pascal (2005), Hammams, Dakota, ISBN 2-84640-148-9
- Meunier, Pascal (2009), The Last Hammams of Cairo. A Disappearing Bathhouse Culture, American University in Cairo, ISBN 978-977-416-243-5
