Victorian Turkish bath

English

Noun

Victorian Turkish bath (plural Victorian Turkish baths)

1. A bathing procedure in which the bather sweats freely in a room heated by hot dry air (or in a series of two or three such rooms maintained at progressively higher temperatures), usually followed by a cold plunge, a full body wash and massage, and a final period of relaxation in a cooling-room.
   • 2007 March, Susan Aykut, “Washing from the inside out: Turkish baths down under”, in TASA Review (The Asian Arts Society of Australia), volume 16/1, page 11:

     The system of heating used in Victorian Turkish baths, however, differed dramatically from the Turkish model.

   • 2008, Efterpi Mitsi, “Private rituals and public selves”, in Teresa Gómez Reus, Aránzazu Usandizaga, editors, Inside out: women negotiating, subverting, appropriating public and private space, Rodopi, →DOI, page 59:

     The Victorian Turkish bath was really a re-invention of the Roman bath, as the dryness of the air distinguishes it from the orignal hammams.

   • 2020 Fall, Burkay Pasin, “The east in the west: Victorian Turkish baths in the British Isles”, in Hammam Magazine, number 1, page 50:

     Urquhart’s personal attempts, enhanced by a series of publications and lectures on the benefits of the Victorian Turkish bath, were quite effectve in the rapid spread of this institution throughout the British Isles.

2. (sometimes in the plural) a specific named establishment offering such baths.
   • 2021 July 25, “Turkish Baths Harrogate: the last fully working Victorian Turkish bath in England”, in Atlas Obscura‎^[1], retrieved 25 May 2024:

     Harrogate Victorian Turkish Baths offer guided tours on several weekday mornings where a resident historian will guide you through the building's unique history […]

Further reading

• Victorian Turkish baths on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Turkish Bath (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia