The Turkish bath, better known under the exotic name hamam, is changing from a purely oriental attribute to becoming more and more common in our country. At your dacha, in an apartment or in a country house, if you wish and are financially able, you can build your own Turkish bath.
Hammam with aromatherapy at home
Hammam tiled with beige mosaic
What is unique about the oriental bathhouse?
Turkey, which is warm all year round, does not require a very hot bath, so the hammam is almost twice as cool as a traditional Russian or Finnish steam room (average temperature no more than 60°C). However, the humidity reaches one hundred percent, and the body warms up well on the hot stone shelves.
Hammam at home in a light design
Large home hammam
Steam is softer, but also healing. The bath gets rid of toxins and impurities, and foam peeling - one of the features of the hammam - ideally cleanses and rejuvenates the skin. The microclimate is such that people with problems of the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, liver, and stomach can easily visit the bathhouse. As a result, metabolism is normalized and nerves are calmed.
Hammam in a private house
Hammam in the interior of the house
The cooling process in the hammam is also not the same as others. Visitors are doused with cold water directly in the steam room. Public or commercial establishments entrust the watering procedure to specially trained people.
Hammam at home in blue design
Stone qurnas in the hamam
How does the hammam work?
In a traditional Turkish bath, the air and surfaces (floor, walls, lounger) are heated by hot steam. Its source is a vat of boiling water, located in the technical room. Rising steam is pumped into a dry steam room, completely isolated from moisture, through channels through holes. Today, the role of the boiler is performed by a steam generator and a heating system.
The Turkish bath is finished exclusively with stone: granite, marble, sometimes with inserts of semi-precious onyx, and never with wood. The real exotic of the hamam are the qurnahs, special stone bowls with hot and cold water for ablution.
Personal hammam made of stone
Conclusion
Building a Turkish hammam bath with your own hands is not at all difficult, since the structure itself does not have any special features, with the exception of finishing. The entire steam room effect is achieved through special equipment, which is quite expensive (see also the article “7 by 7 bathhouse project - many offers in a wide range of price ranges”).
For more information on this topic, watch the video in this article.
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Turkish bath project
A complex technical and engineering complex, such as a hammam, requires a detailed design: with a floor plan, steam supply systems, heating, electricity, and plumbing in the house. It is optimal to spend money on an individual project that takes into account the characteristics of a particular building. These are considerable sums, but eliminating mistakes made during construction will cost even more. Especially if you are doing a sauna in an existing residential building.
Rest room in the hammam
The hammam does not provide lightweight plastic, only solid stones. Therefore, to prevent the walls of the house from collapsing under their weight and the floor from falling through, it is better to calculate all the “strength of evidence” with a specialist. He will tell you how to make a hammam according to all the rules. If you want to build a bathhouse from scratch, a standard option will do.
Personal hammam in brown design
Hammam in the apartment
If you decide to make a hammam at home, provide the necessary space. A room of two by two meters is sufficient to accommodate the equipment. The shower and rest room do not require special design; you can make do with those available in the house. A mini hammam can be successfully imitated by a steam cabin with a curved ceiling; the kurna will be replaced by an ordinary sink, especially a marble one. The lounger can be made of wood. Or you make a brick table and decorate it with ceramic tiles, mosaics, and stone. You can cool off in a shower with good pressure.
Hammam at home with kurna
Prerequisites
Regardless of the size and initial data, the design of a modern Turkish bath meets several canonized requirements.
- The hammam consists of four rooms: a steam room, a shower room, a technical block (all equipment is located there), and a relaxation room.
- The technical sector is located closer to the steam room, no further than 15 meters. With a greater distance, the steam will cool along the way, and condensation will accumulate on the pipes in the summer.
- The ceiling, walls, and floor of a bathhouse in a house, including a wooden one, are lined with decorative stone, ceramic tiles, and mosaics. A freestanding building may be made of brick, stone or cinder block and have similar cladding.
- The hammam ceiling is at least two and a half meters high (preferably higher, up to three) and is always in the form of a dome. The Turks legalized this form not only because of its beauty: the temperature in the steam room is 30°C, and the steam entering there is 55°C, which causes condensation to form on the ceiling. The dome-shaped shape prevents it from dripping onto the floor or heads; it flows smoothly down the walls.
- The hammam should always be at least +30°C.
- Bath ventilation and sewage systems are required.
Compliance with these conditions will allow you to build a hammam of high quality, enjoy the atmosphere to the maximum and reproduce the real Turkish flavor.
Hammam in the apartment
Internal organization
The interior decoration was distinguished by sophistication and oriental luxury. The Turks still adhere to this tradition.
The traditional hammam is a large building in oriental style. Inside it has main rooms and utility rooms.
To decorate the main rooms, only tiles of various configurations are used. The loungers (“chebek-tashi”) and seats in the steam room are made of marble. Each of them has its own heating. This is done to improve the comfort of visitors.
In the basement there is a boiler, which serves to maintain the desired temperature in the rooms. The steam room has special openings through which hot air enters. They are located at a height of 150 cm from the floor.
Be sure to read: What holidays are celebrated in Turkey in the fall
Hammam in Istanbul
The arrangement of the main rooms resembles the structure of a human hand. The largest central room is the steam room. Five other rooms branch off from it. Each of them maintains its own temperature and humidity levels.
Hammam plan
- A - entrance for men
- B - entrance for women
- a - soukluk with changing room
- b - room with a warm temperature (between syjaklyk and soukluk)
- c - toilets
- d - syjaklyk room with marble stone (göbek taşı) in the middle
- e - halvet
- f - kulhan
When taking procedures, rooms are visited in a certain sequence:
a. Locker room. Here visitors leave their clothes and put on bath sheets and slippers. Their presence is mandatory, since the floor in the steam room is very hot.
b. Waiting room. The temperature in this room does not rise above 35*C. This allows the body to get used to hot air.
c. Toilets.
d. Steam room. The largest room. Has a domed roof. This was done specifically so that drops would not fall on visitors, but would roll down the walls. Here the air warms up to 77*C, and humidity reaches 95%.
e. Shower room.
f. Room for relaxation and tea drinking.
Main stages of construction
Equipment for the “filling” of a prepared room in a private house includes several operations.
Thermal insulation
Necessary for retaining heat inside a home hammam, so as not to heat adjacent rooms when it is not required (for example, in summer). Any modern technology is suitable.
Waterproofing
Almost one hundred percent humidity requires high-quality surface treatment with special compounds. A membrane is also used, which is attached to the surface and does not prevent the penetration of oxygen.
Heating system
Can be water or electric. Water heating in the house is more economical. It can be provided from hot water supply or an electric boiler located in the technical room. If the boiler is double-circuit, you need to install an individual circuit so as not to heat other rooms in the summer.
When choosing electric heating, which is much more expensive, pipes or mats are laid on the walls and under the sunbed, and not just on the floor.
Mosaic hamam
Hammam made of marble
electrical safety
Electrical wiring, sockets, switches must be made of moisture- and heat-resistant material, and the hammam at home is illuminated with lamps or LED strips.
Steam generator
The “heart” of the bathhouse. Creates the steam required for a hammam, controls its quantity, circulation, temperature, and humidity. Basic options are complemented by more expensive models with water pre-purification systems, automatic drainage, and containers for aromatic oils. It is installed in a technical room, and the steam enters the harar steam room through special pipes. Selected according to the dimensions of the room. Can be supplied with a control panel.
Ventilation
It can be in-line or forced. The pipes are installed in the place of the former window. The air outlet tube must be made of stainless steel, sealed, with a pipe for draining condensate. The most popular supply and exhaust device. In the room planned for the hammam, two ventilation openings located one opposite the other are designed. With a multi-level system, they are made at different heights.
Small hammam at home
Hammam made of tiles in the house
Modern hammams
Hammam in Istanbul
There are practically no hammams left in modern Turkey that offer the full range of ancient bath procedures. There are several such establishments only in Istanbul and Bukhara.
Now the area of the buildings is much smaller and consists of only three rooms, but the Turks do not skimp on interior decoration.
The interior of the premises is made in the national oriental style. The highest quality tiles are used for finishing the premises. The walls are decorated with mosaic paintings. Marble is also used to make sun loungers.
The only thing that remains unchanged is the presence of a bathhouse attendant (Tellak). This profession is considered honorable. To become a professional bathhouse attendant, those wishing to undergo training based on ancient traditions, massage therapist courses, and then a special selection.
The master of bath art performs all procedures:
- pours hot water over the body, preparing for cleansing;
- Using a washcloth made of natural threads (kisse), gently rubs the body with a soap solution. This procedure lasts about 15 minutes;
- soapy massage. The visitor sits comfortably on the “chebek-tashi”, the bathhouse attendant generously soaps all the bodies, and then his skillful hands knead all the muscles. This pleasant procedure lasts about an hour. After this procedure, fatigue and tension disappear without a trace;
- ablution and visiting the pool;
- oil massage. The final procedure carried out by the bathhouse attendant. The body is rubbed with aromatic oils or firming cream.
After taking the basic procedures, visitors are recommended to drink a cup of national herbal tea. If desired, you can stay in the hammam for at least the whole day: alternating swimming in the pool with drinking tea.
Exotic hamam
Stone lounger
The main attribute of the steam room is harara. As a rule, the pedestal is placed in the center, its dimensions are 80-90x120x210 cm. The hot stone lounger is a multifunctional place:
- to receive a delightful foam treatment, which is only possible in the hammam;
- complete warming up of each joint or muscle;
- table for massage of a warm body.
The interior is complemented by stone benches, small in width, installed along the walls.
Personal hammam with lighting
Kurnas
This is the name of the special bowls that are always available in Harar. Traditionally they are made of stone, there are at least two of them, with cold and hot water for ablution. They are also filled with herbal infusions and massage liquids. Today, especially in a private house, only one kurna is allowed (it can even serve as a round-shaped sink) with two taps installed above it. The kurna is not connected to the sewerage system.
Decor
The classic material in the design of a hammam is marble (the bed is made of a monolithic slab). But this is a very expensive option, available to few, so it is often replaced with ceramics. Finishing with such tiles is much cheaper, but does not negatively affect the quality. Mosaic tiles made from small fragments are ideal for laying out oriental patterns. The hammam at home is equipped with a glass or wooden door.
Hammam with massage table
The construction of a bathhouse, even in a partially prepared room, is very expensive. It is worthwhile to first assess your financial capabilities, including drawing up a project, the services of specialists and the costs of subsequent maintenance.
Hammam in the bathroom
However, your own personal Turkish bath can not only improve your health, improve your mood, but also add status to the owner.
Story
Baths have existed in Turkey since time immemorial. The Turks adopted a special method of ablution from the Arabs, who built baths following the example of the Romans. The first Turkish baths appeared at the beginning of the 7th century. At this time, residents of eastern countries began to preach Islam.
According to the teachings of faith: frequent bathing and keeping the body clean is a godly activity. Therefore, in ancient times, hammams were built not far from mosques. The Turkish bath was intended not only for ablutions, people gathered in it to communicate and resolve various issues.
Every week a women's bathing day was held. Representatives of the fair sex came not only for bathing, cosmetic procedures and massages, but also to chat with friends, relax and take a break from household chores. Often here mothers with adult sons looked for future daughters-in-law.
Hamam occupies a special place in the life of Turks. Most of the main events in the life of a family were celebrated, and in some cities they are still celebrated, in the hammam:
- the day a newborn turns forty days old
- bachelorette and bachelor party
- boy circumcision
- end of military service.
