Hamam (Turkish bath)

The tradition of the Turkish bath extends far back, to a time before Turks had reached Anatolia. The traditions merged, and with the addition of the Moslem concern for cleanliness and its concomitant respect for the uses of water, there arose an entirely new concept, that of the Turkish Bath. In time it became an institution, with its system of ineradicable customs.
For the Turkish bath was much more than just a place to cleanse the skin. It was intimately bound up with everyday life, a place where people of every rank and station, young and old, rich and poor, townsman or villager, could come freely. Women as well as men made use of the "hamam", although of course at separate hours.
From the individual's point of view, the hamam was a familiar place from the earliest weeks of life right up to its very end.
I talk about ‘turkish bath’, but why in Bulgaria? The reason is simple – Bulgaria was unter Turkish yoke during 5 century’s (1396-1878)– so it’s natural that some of the traditions ware transmitted and became a part of the daily life of the Bulgarians.

A picture from Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres - french painter in the 19th century