The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1911-02-16
THE TURKISH BATH
A Victims Story of the Real Thine
In Its Native Land.
MAULED AND SCRAPED.
He Was kneaded, Plueked, Turned
Over and Walked Upon and Then
Scrubbed as Though He Were q
Kitchen Floor.

Over and Walked Upon and Their
Scrubbed as Though He Were q
Kitchen Floor.
The tourist who wanders about
Samboul will from time To time come
on domcd buildings of all sizes which
might be taken for mosques but that
they seem to have no fountains and
no minarets. From some place, such as
the terrace of the mosque of Sultan
Sulayman. where their roofs may be
overlooked, it will be seen that the
low dOmeS are often of peculiar salm-
on pink color and always covered
with glass bullseyes. These are the
real Turkish baths.
wash before prayer, Islam. which con-
siderS cleanliness not SO much next
to gOdliness as part of gOdliness it.
self, 0rdains periodical scrub all over,
And the Turk, unlike the sOdden west,
never sits in hot water, but prefers a
hot room, a tap and basin as a min
imum and a shampOoer and a flesh
glove If he can afford such luxuries.
One enters, as in the west, into the
cooling room, generally high domed
room with many galleries around a
marble floor and Il fountain, and be-
fore going TO private room or, If the
bath is to be done on the cheap, to
a place on the big common sofas one
exchanges dirty boots for slipshod
heelless slippers. Watch and valua-
bles may be left under the care Of the
cooling room attendant, who superin-
tends the process Of undressing, winds
a loin cloth around one and throws a
primrose towel over ones shoulders
Before crossing the floor Of the cool
ing room the slippers are again ex-
changed for wooden clogs, wherein the
novice walks like Agsg, delicately, in
fear Of fall, till he learns to imi-
tate the speed of the bath men by
abandoning all attempts to walk and
executing fast shuttle
The outer hot room, at about the
temperature of an English shampooing
room, is very secondary affair. One
stays there for little, still clothed in
the primrose towel, reclining on a dis
tant imitation Of bed, drinking cOf-
fee and smoking a cigarette, perhaps
watching couple of shampOOers
amusing themselves by a wrestling
bout. The customer and the shampoo
er wear the same type Of loin cloth,
an elaborate check of red and yellow
that may be seen any day In the
streets on an apron worn by the AL
bantam sellers Of chestnuts or sweet
meats.
II that cigarette is finished come
into the inner room, heavy with damp
heat, the real bath. The attendant
pulls off the shoulder towel and opens
the door, heavy wooden affair, kept
shut by a cOunterweight, whose bang
ing is not the least characteristic noise
in the bath. Inside is a large square
domed room. Innumerable bullseyes
in the dome admit the light, which the
light and airy effect On the great
square slab in the middle they have
placed towel and a pillow, and here
one lies, leaving the clogs on the floor.
Round the room, screened from one
another by dwarf walls, are a row Of
marble basins, and here may be seen
all classes-such is the democracy Of |
Islam-from the army officer to the |
day laborer, whose shaved head oddly |
suggests tonsure. The poorer classes |
do not indulge in the luxury Of mas
sage. They come for a wash only and |
often bring their own soap for econo-
my's sake. 1t is not uncommon to see |
two Of them scrubbing one another by
turns.
Presently. unbidden, the shampooer
the slab and squats beside his
victim. Most of his work consists In
the flesh rather than the
long, heavy strokes Of an English mas
,eur. But when the customer is turn
ed on his face the masseur becomes
more energetic. He plucks the skin
On each side of the spine, walks up
md down ON the back and strenuously
gathers up arms and legs into curious
bone breaking knots regardless Of the
yrunts of the stiff jointed west. A
fnal super GOrdian knot and the clap
ping Of his hands show that 1t Is over
The customer, as soon as he can col
ect limbs which seem to have been
,ulled clean of him, adjourns to one Of
he basins and is rubbed with rough
yiove to take off the old skin. Then
he man brings battered metal bowl
''old bowl, old BATH" Is the Turkish
,roverb for ''the old, old story'D with
oap and lather wisp Of "lyf' Mecca
,alm fiber, and scrubs conscientiously
or some ten minutes, working with
he abandon Of jealous housemaid on
floor, forgetful apparently that the
'bject he is scrubbing is flesh and
Hood.
Finally he pOurs warm water from
he bowl to wash away the last Of the
and, If the bath is a large and
Ip to date one, conducts his we'll scrub
ed victim to q cold douche