The Historic Hammams of Bursa

xii + 151 pp, colour figures, pb, in English.

The aim of the book you are about to read is to provide detailed information about the history of hammam culture in the city of Bursa, which is famous for its hot springs and hammams, and about the “public hammams” built in the Ottoman period. In order to create in the minds of readers an image of the “Turkish Hammam” in all its aspects it describes the tradition of bathing in the context of history as a whole and the emergence of the hammam phenomenon, the architectural and historical characteristics of the Ottoman hammam, the importance of the hammam tradition in Turkish culture and its place in social life.

The book contains a review of the present state of the hammams of Bursa and the reasons for their decline. Proposals have been made as to how these structures could be better integrated into modern life.