Hammam: Encyclopedia II - Hammam - Customs

Hammam - Customs

Traditionally, the masseurs in the baths, tellak in Turkish, were young boys, helping the men in washing their bodies. Their duties were not just washers, but also sex workers. We know today, by texts left by Ottoman authors, who they were, their prices, how many times they could bring their customers to orgasm, and the details of their sexual practices. The tellak system died out in the early years of the twentieth century, as a result of the increasing westernization of the Turkish Republic. (From the Dellakname-i-Dilkusa, 18th century anonymous work; Ottoman archives, Sulemaniye, Istanbul)

At times the relationships became intensely personal. It is recorded that in the mid-18th century, a janissary had a tellak for a lover. The latter was kidnapped by the men of another regiment, and the boy given to the use of their commander. A days-long battle between the two regiments ensued, which was brought to an end only by the intervention of the Sultan, who had the tellak hung.

As modern plumbing systems grew more common and showers and bathtubs began to be installed at homes more frequently, the importance of hammams started to fade in Turkey.

The hammam, as opposed to its Roman or Byzantine baths, is not exclusive to men only, hammam complexes usually contain separate quarters for men and women. Being social centers, in the Ottoman Empire, hammams were quite abundant, and were built in almost every Ottoman city. Integrated in daily life, they were centers of social gatherings, populated in almost every occasion with traditional entertainment (e.g. dancing and food especially in the women's quarters) and ceremonies, such as before weddings, high-holidays, celebrating newborns, beauty trips, etc.

There existed some special accessories of which some still are being used at modern hammams: such as the peştemal (a special cloth of silk and/or cotton, to cover the body, like pareos), nalın (special wooden clogs that would prevent the wearer from slipping on the wet floor, often decorated with silver or mother-of-pearl), kese (a rough mitt for massage), and sometimes jewel boxes, gilded soap boxes, embroidered mirrors, henna bowls, perfume bottles, and such.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Customs", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki