Five Pillars of Islam
One of the Five Pillars of Islam is prayer. It is customary before praying to perform ablutions. The two Islamic forms of ablution are "ghusl", a full-body cleansing, and "wudu", a cleansing of the face, hands, and feet. In the absence of water, cleansing with pure soil or sand is also permissible. Mosques always provide a place to wash, but often hammams are located nearby for those who wish to perform deeper cleansing.