Harem of Hamam? Why Segregation Led to the Historic (and Bitter) struggle between the Sexes
Text by Michelle Shail | March 2010
During the long winter months as temperatures hover near freezing and dreary clouds hide the sun for days on end, I can often be found thawing in the self imposed isolation of my Jacuzzi tub. Such is a private affair from which I’m only disturbed in the event of a dire emergency. This winter ritual which, honestly, probably stretches into the spring and summer warms my toes, relaxes my tired muscles and clears my forever multi-tasking mind. As the Molton Brown bath salts fizz and the Jacuzzi motor hums I retreat to a sacred place of relaxation, reflection and creation. This is where I jot down poems inspired by precious moments I never want to forget, where I review my constitution and reflect on how my actions and attitudes align with that personal statement. In these private moments I outline my writings and merge observation and theory with application.
The medicinal love affair with water and bubbles is not unique to me or to the American culture. Indeed civilizations have been exploiting the institution of bathing and blending it with their social fabric since the 2nd millennium BC. As such bathing was a public rather than private event. The baths of the ancient Greeks adjoined their palaestras (training grounds) to accompany the physical fitness and athletic gaming that defined much of their culture. The significance of public bathing ran even deeper for the Romans. To highlight its importance, the Romans erected imposing structures adorned with lavish details to create an almost cathedral feel. For the Romans, bathing was not just for cleansing purposes, skin care and relaxation; it was for recreation as well. These indoor arcades were social centers for conversation, business and education. An analogy can be drawn to the present day American golf course where business deals are sealed and more importantly the values, attitudes and customs of the time are underwritten in a venue of play.
The architectural remains of the Greek baths influenced the Islamic culture and around 600 AD Muhammad embraced sweat baths, believing it enhanced fertility. After all, leaders need followers young and old and so with Muhammad’s encouragement the Islamic hammam (Arabic for "spreader of warmth") began to proliferate. Prior to Muhammad’s rhetoric, the Arabs used only cold splashes of water for bathing. With the acceptance of and delights resulting from the inclusion of warm water the Arabs customized the hammam to meet their needs and as such religious significance quickly grew. Hammams became annexes to mosques in order to comply with Islamic laws of hygiene and purification. Similar to modern day US spas (which number in excess of 14,000 and account for nine billion dollars in revenue), visitors to the Hammams traverse though a series of rooms often heated by natural hot water to induce sweating and encourage relaxation, following with a massage and ending in the rest hall for beverages and fans of cool air from servants.
Utilitarian function soon grew into social form. As you might imagine, women were initially forbidden from the hammam. The resting place for women was the harem. This notion of segregating the sexes originated in the Near East and traveled west during the Ottoman Empire, an imperial monarchy that dated from 1299 – 1922. While Western art often depicts an exotic notion of the harem as a playground for sexual follies, it was originally just the part of the house where female relatives and children lived. In Arabic the word "harem" means "something forbidden or kept safe." In the Islamic culture women were secluded and outsiders forbidden in an attempt to protect them. Harems were a social custom that protected the royal lineage and an isolated environment in which to prepare women to appear in public as a royal wife. Only in the harem could women remove their head garments and be temporarily unbridled from the strict customs of how women should appear in public. Ultimately because of the hygienic benefits, "The Word" was reinterpreted and women were allowed use of the hammams. Soon they were as numerous as neighborhood country clubs in Charlotte. In time the privilege of the hammam became a right and a measuring stick of wealth and social acceptability. Bernhard Stein, writing for the Neuse Freie Press wrote in 1897 of the importance of the hammam for Turkish women: There the Turkish women sit, unveiled, in their patterned robes, smoking, gossiping, laughing, suckling their children or painting their faces. On the whole there is no better place for getting to know the happy inactivity of the Turkish woman’s life.
