Spa towns have existed in Europe for centuries, and now they have become fashionable and charming spa resorts.
Water is the origin of all things, and the four ancient civilizations in the world have worshiped water: Ancient Egypt and Babylon believed that “at the beginning, everything was water”; ancient Indian classics also stated that “water is the mother of everything, so ancient In the beginning, only water was the only thing.” In ancient Greek mythology, there is a legend that the god of the ocean, Okean, created all things in the world; ancient China has believed that water is the most primitive state that nurtures life and all things since the Yan and Huang Era. It is precisely because of the worship of water that it has a sacred meaning for taking water as a derivative of clean bathing.
Ancient Egyptians who love to clean
In primitive societies, humans wanted to go out hunting and go into the water to catch fish and shrimps. Waterfalls and rivers naturally became the most convenient places for bathing. This is also the most primitive way of bathing. Compared with the freedom of primitive people to bathe in the open air, the ancient Egyptians in the civilized era are no longer willing to show their bodies in the open air. The ruined walls left behind indicate that there were special bathrooms at that time. The ancient Egyptian nobles who liked to take a bath would let a group of servants line up with water, pour a basin of water on themselves, and use a bathing product called “scented liquid”, and even spray spices on the armpits to eliminate foul smell.
People who have watched the movie “Cleopatra” may be deeply impressed by the graceful bathing scenes of Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. This peerless beauty has left many legends in history, most of which are about her Various secrets of beauty. For example, for bathing, it is said that she bathes with donkey milk every day to keep her skin soft, firm and smooth. However, although other Egyptians do not have the capital of Cleopatra to spend on bathing, they are still very particular. Ancient Egyptians took baths almost every day, and they attached great importance to personal hygiene because they valued death. According to the knowledge of ancient Egyptians, keeping their bodies clean can make them happy with God. The cleaner they are, the closer they are to God. Therefore, when the soul is judged after death, they can get a good evaluation.
The British spa town of Bath is a classical and elegant town surrounded by rural scenery. The Romans first discovered hot springs here and built huge baths.
The Baths of Caracalla, Italy, was built in 217 AD, with granite as the main material and complicated decorations, showing the luxury of ancient Rome. The bathing area covers an area of 10 hectares and can accommodate 1500 people at the same time.
Hamami Baths in Istanbul, Turkey.
It is often difficult for modern people to realize how difficult it was for the ancients to take a bath without running water, toilets and water heaters. It takes a lot of money to build a bathroom, and it takes a lot of manpower to carry water into the house, boil the water, and fill the tub or tub. This series of behaviors requires a lot of manpower, so taking a bath is often a lot of work, so for the poor. It is said that bathing in the Nile River is commonplace. Only the nobles and wealthy people can have separate bathrooms and send a group of slaves to wait for themselves to bathe and change clothes. It was not until the new dynasty of Egypt that public baths were built in cities for everyone to use. From the perspective of modern people, some of the bathroom facilities built by the Egyptians are already very advanced. For example, they introduce water into the room, so they don’t need to carry the water in big buckets, and they can also have flowing water to rinse. For the body, some bathrooms even have a heating device for users to take a hot bath. In addition to bathing, the sophisticated Egyptians also use soap made of clay and plant ash. It has a good effect on cleansing the skin and keeping away skin diseases. It also has a fragrance of plants. The wealthy Egyptians also use olives. The balm made of oil, animal fat, and plant essence keeps the skin moisturized and makes the whole body exude fragrance.
The literary works truly restore the Roman bathroom
In HBO’s drama “Rome”, there is a scene where someone visits the general Anthony, and he sees Anthony standing in the courtyard and letting slaves clean his body. This scene actually uses the usual cleaning methods of the Romans—— Apply olive oil on the body, and then use a scraper to scrape off the dirt on the body one by one. This cleaning method originated from the ancient Greeks. Like the ancient Egyptians, the ancient Greeks also attached great importance to personal hygiene. They were very clear about the fact that not taking a bath would bring diseases, and even invented the shower to enhance the efficiency of bathing. Tool of. The ancient Romans were deeply influenced by the bathing culture of ancient Greece, but bathing in them developed more prosperously as a mode of enjoyment.
The wealthy Romans all have private bathrooms in their homes, so they can relax and entertain guests. Due to the developed civic culture, the Romans were also keen to build various diversion canals to introduce clean water into the city, and then to build public baths. This is not only a place for body cleansing, but also an important social place. Baths are generally located in the city center. People of all kinds of religions bathe here, make friends, share information, talk about business, and engage in litigation decisions. Therefore, the baths are an ancient Roman city One of the most important landmarks.
Today, the remains of the baths left over thousands of years ago can be found in all parts of Europe. For example, the famous British town of Bath is famous for its hot springs and ancient Roman baths. The entire city is listed as a world cultural heritage. The name of the city” “Bath” (Bath) in English means bathing, bathing, which explains everything. This is the only place in the UK where hot springs gush out. It is also a health resort that British people have always liked. It is believed that Bath Hot Springs can treat a variety of skin diseases, nerve diseases, lung and respiratory diseases. People often see Bath’s name in the works of British novelists. Jane Austen once lived here to write. The heroine in her novel “Northanger Abbey” was on a tour of Bath. Knowing his true destiny, after a thrilling and risk-free journey, and the male protagonist cultivate a positive result. Today there is also a Jane Austen Memorial in Bath. If you have readers who like Austin, you can feel the charm of the writer while visiting the ancient Roman baths. Today, the Roman Baths Museum in Bath can only be used for visits, you can see the architectural remains of the year, and you can taste the spring water rich in minerals and trace elements, just like people did hundreds of years ago. The hot spring can go to the newly built Bath Hot Springs next to it. If you are willing to spend 35 pounds, you can experience the feeling of the hot spring water left over from the ancient Roman period.
In the 19th century, Europeans had a fascinating yearning for Oriental customs. The men and women in the portraits left at that time sometimes wore colorful Ottoman Turkish style costumes. Taking Turkish baths became a fashion of the time. In the Near East, a step away, the three thousand beauties in the harem of the Ottoman Turkish sultan and the fragrant scenes in the Turkish bath have become mysterious scenery that people want to see with their own eyes but have no choice but to see. French painter Ingres created a number of paintings related to the Turkish court, such as the famous “Lady of the Grand Palace”, “Harem Belle” and “Hammam”, which reflected this trend. Some of the naked girls in the painting are playing the piano, some dancing, some chatting, and some stretching their bodies to enjoy the bathing time lazily. This painting full of naked girls was once thought to have Indecency.
The real Turkish harem and bathroom may not be like Anger’s paintings, but after seeing the bathroom of the harem, you will feel that it will be at least as crowded as Inger’s paintings. The women in the harem of the sultan have a special relationship with the sultan. Most of them are looted from various places and exist as sultans’ female slaves. Although they are favored, they do not have the status of husband and wife. The female slaves did not have a separate room, but lived in a big room, as if they were sleeping in a big shop. The sultan needs to favor any slave girl who will let the eunuch call her to go. The place where the harem beauties live cannot see the magnificent Bosphorus scenery. Apart from the high ceiling, the house now seems to be very difficult to touch with magnificence. The bathroom used is really not bright enough, especially the same The palace of the sultan is far from it. However, if a female slave can be favored by the sultan, and the children born can also win from the bloody court struggle and become the successor sultan, then she can become a real power in the harem-the queen mother, the winner of the palace battle can be treated It’s quite different, as can be seen from the spacious and luxurious hall of the Queen Mother’s bedroom. The Ottoman Empire’s battle for the crown prince was a bloody struggle. The method adopted was a winner-takes-all model. In order to seek the throne, the many descendants of the sultan must engage in a fight for the throne. , The person who finally won the throne of the sultan will kill the brothers who failed, and even the brothers and feet of the compatriots will be cut and wiped out, and will not be merciless. The purpose of this cruel model is that the power is completely concentrated in the hands of the Sudan himself, and there will be no threats or future troubles.
Sultan Hurem was a Slav who was looted to Istanbul and became one of the many female slaves in the harem of Sultan Suleyman. From the writings of the Italian painter Titian, it can be seen that Sultan Xu Lem is indeed a beautiful woman, but her strength lies not only in appearance. Suleiman the Great, who was in power throughout his life in the army, wrote an emotional poem under the pen name of Sultan Xu Lemu under Muhebi, and confided his love: “The throne of my lonely niche, my love, my moonlight .My most sincere friend, my confidant, the reason for my existence, my sultan, my only love. The most beautiful person among beauties… my spring, my face with joyful love, my day, my sweetheart , Laughing leaves…my green trees, my fragrance, my rose, the only person in this world who will not make me sad…my Istanbul, my Karaman, my land in Anatolia. My Badakhshan, my Baghdad and Khorasan. My wife with beautiful hair, my love with crooked eyebrows, my love with mischievous eyes… I will always sing your hymn. I, Sorrowful lover, Muhebi with tears in his eyes, I am very happy.” This strange woman was praised by the Sultan as “the only person in this world who will not make me sad”, and said that her “eyes are full of mischief”. She is very good at making the Sultan happy, and may be a soothing medicine for Sultan Suleyman. But she is not only foolish, because she defeated Sultan Suleiman’s favorite woman Gulbaha Sultan before her. This woman not only has the reputation of “the rose of spring”, but also has He was born the eldest son of Sultan Suleiman-once the most powerful contender for the position of Sultan; also defeated Suleiman Sultan’s hair and pet and power minister, Ibrahim, who is in the position of prime minister, finally supported His son ascended to the position of Sudan. Suleiman also gave Xu Leim the status of a free man, and married with him. This unique honor is also very rare.
If you feel tempted and want to experience the highest level of the once-in-a-lifetime Turkish bath, you can choose Hurem Sultan Bath. You must be reminded that you can enjoy royal treatment in this bathroom with a history of hundreds of years and a special meaning. The cost is also royal, and it costs about 100 euros per hour. If you don’t spare the travel funds in your wallet, just Come on now!
Pushing open the heavy door and stepping into it, the maze-like winding wooden stairs, colorful windows and chandeliers that diffuse the gentle light introduce guests into the time hundreds of years ago, and the light-colored marble stone is widely used in the bathroom. And the gold-inlaid decoration makes the interior of the whole bathroom reveal a pure and elegant style. The geometric gold and black patterns on the marble plate for steaming sweat and bathing further bring out the classic luxury. After changing clothes in the dressing room, I came to the sweat-steaming hall and lay on the heated stone slab. The smooth marble slab has a suitable temperature. The light shines from the dome like strands of strings. This atmosphere inevitably makes People are relaxed and drowsy. After sweating and washing, the next step is the scrubbing session. The Turkish uncles and aunts with strong hands will not slacken their efforts to rub off the accumulated dirt for the guests. After “rubbing a layer of skin”, then A special bubbler is used to create a rich and heavy soap foam, which is applied to the guests. This last part of the bath often makes the guests who were previously at a loss as kneading dough relax instantly under the foam cover. After another wash, the whole person looks completely new. As an end, why not drink a cup of traditional Turkish black tea, eat a piece of Turkish delight, and then slowly reminisce about the exotic feeling of bathing.
