Impressions and Identity

This chapter describes the hamam’s different identities and the impressions it left on its users: its religious function of ritual cleansing, based on the Qur’an and the Hadith (the collected sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad); its social function as a place to gather and exchange news, and as a place for important rituals such as the bride’s bath; its place in sexual fantasies as well as sexual encounters; its medical function in the treatment of certain diseases, as laid out in Ottoman medical treatises; and its urban function to convey a sense of architectural splendour and to promote the imperial dynasty by demonstrating its concern for the city inhabitants’ well-being;.