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	Return to main Sweat page MEDITERRANEAN BATHS Visiting the modern Hammam in Ankara and lstanbul Early Greek and Roman Batths Mass Bathing in the Balnea and Thermae The Islamic Hammam is Born The "'Turkish Bath" Visits Europe and America Private Sweat Bathing Cubicles FINNISH SAUNA A Visit in the Dead of Winter History of the Nordic Bath Sauna in Europe Sauna in Japan Sauna in America NATIVE AMERICAN SWEAT LODGE Joining Running Foot in a Navajo Sweat Lodge A Guest at an Oglala Sun Dance Ceremony History of Sweat Lodges Hot Rock Sweat Lodge Direct Fire Sweat Lodge Sweating Without a Sweat Lodge Origin of the Temescal The Temescal Today The Sweat Lodge Joins the Modern World RUSSIAN BANIA A Boisterous Bath in Leningrad History of the Great Russian Bath Bannik, the Spirit of the Bania The Birth Bania The Wedding Bania The Death Bania Health & the Bania The Bania after the Russian Revolution The Spreading Influence of the Russian Steam Bath SAUNA & HEALTH Sauna & Health Sweating Skin Heating & Cooling the Inner Body Positive Effects of Negative Ions Spirits of the Sweat Social Sweating USING THE SAUNA/ SWEAT BATH SAUNA/SWEAT SPICES PRECAUTIONS SPECIAL SAUNA CONCERNS FOR WOMEN BUILD YOUR OWN
			MEDITERRANEAN BATHS Private Sweat Bathing Cublicles ©1997 Mikkel Aaland All Rights Reserved Advertisement from the 19th century. From Sweat, copyright Mikkel Aaland   A radically altered form of the Turkish bath caught the fancy of rural America in the late 1800s. A simple box in which a single person could sit and sweat was far from the communal Turkish; but entrepreneurs cleverly labeled these boxes "Turkish," to give them a romantic appeal. The principle had been used before, extensively. In Europe, these boxes, warmed by hot rocks and sometimes burning whiskey, were popular during the Middle Ages. A barrel, large enough to accomodate one person, was caulked and heated by burning spirits. These ancient steam cabinets were called Russian or oriental baths and were re-invented later as the steam or Turkish bath in America. For 19th century America, these cubicles solved the problem of how to bathe in the nude without being seen. In rural areas lacking plumbing, sweat boxes were a practical alternative to spacious public baths. Mail order ads and traveling salesmen proclaimed doctor's endorsements for the cure-all sweat boxes. The 1854 Encyclopedia Britannica advises: "The vapour bath is infinitely superior to the warm bath for all purposes for which a warm bath can be given. An effective vapour bath may easily be had in any house at little cost and trouble." The Britannica then offered a simple method of making a sweat bath at home: heat a brick in the oven and place it in a metal basin; then pour water over it to produce steam. The bather, wrapped in a towel, should sit on a chair above the brick. Another method was the Quaker model which sold for $5.00 by mail order. It was a fabric cylinder enclosing a chair and spirit lamp. The bather sat for 15 minutes or so, sweating in the hot, dry air. A more elaborate steam bath, patented in 1814, included an impressive boiler to feed steam under a bed cover, and a four-posted canopy with curtains to form a roomy steam tent. Variations on such inventions flooded 19th century magazines and catalogs. These private "saunas," as they are now called, were never widely popular in the United States, although they do have a few fervent followers. They are found in health spas, trailer courts, massage parlors, local gymnasia, as well as private homes.   RETURN TO TOP... NEXT CHAPTER... RETURN TO MAIN SWEAT PAGE