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 THE HAMMAM July 24, 2005 5:11 PM

THE HAMMAM
"Benches covered with rugs followed the outline of the walls, and sitting upon them, chattering like sparrows, we undressed ourselves.  Lengths of striped silk were given us, and tying them about our hipswe went into the next room, where walls of heated stone surrounded a pool of warm water.  We sat on the edge of the pool and dabbled our toes in it while the bathers let down our hair.
Then we passed into the next room as large as a mosque.
Lounging on carpeted slabs under the rays of the 
golden, green and red, that pierced the coloured
glass of the dome, we let the hours of the day trickle between our idle fingers."
Armen Ohanian, THE DANCER of SSHAMMHKA  [ send green star]
 
THE FIRST TIME... July 24, 2005 5:16 PM

The first time I was allowed to go to the henna room was on the day after the women and children's visit to the big Hammam (Steam Bath). It was just after my tenth birthday. The bath was an all day affair with all the women singing and dancing and the children running about. This day I was somber for I was being prepared for my first henna painting.
Rabia  [ send green star]
 
ROOMS OF THE HAMMAM July 25, 2005 6:19 PM

 

I WALKED INTO THE ROOM SCARED BECAUSE THIS WAS A WORLD I DID NOT KNOW . SHY MAYBE SO! OK YOU CAN DO THIS SO I GO TO THE FIRST ROOM COOL BUT NOT COLD MANY FACES, COLORS AND SIZES. OK THIS IS NOT BAD KEEP WALKING YOUR ALMOST THERE GIRL. SECOND ROOM COZY SOOTHING TO MY SKIN. MANY FACES LOOK AT ME DO I LOOK LIKE AND AMERICAN OH WELL KEEP WALKING GIRL NOT TO FAR NOW. THIRD ROOM STEAM COMING OFF THE WALLS AND THE CEILING BUT OOOH IT FELT SO GOOD. OK NOW REMOVE THE TOWEL TO YOUR WAIST ITS OK BECAUSE MANY FACES ARE JUST LIKE MINE. WOMAN IN HER GLORY ! LITTLE KIDS RUNNING AROUND. 

MOTHERS TRYING TO SOCIALIZE. AND AS I BECAME ACUSTOM TO MY SURROUNDINGS. I LOOKED AND WOMEN WHERE HELPING EACH OTHER TRUE SISTER HOOD. YOU WANT ME TO WASH YOU HAIR. OH SISTER I RUB YOUR BACK FOR YOU. NOTHING STRANGE TO THEM. SALAAM AHKTI AND I REPLY WALAIKUM SALAAM . LABAS BEKHIR AND I SAY IYEH AHKTI ALHAMDULLILAH. I WAS NO LONGER A STRANGER TO THE HAMMAM AND NO LONGER SHY WHY BECAUSE WE ARE SISTERS WITH DIFFERENT SHAPES AND COLORS.

Sabila

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Facial for oily skin (ENJOY) July 28, 2005 10:37 AM

  • 2 tablespoons of dried lavender (available at floral shops or personal product stores)
  • 2 tablespoons of plain yogurt
  • Oatmeal, finely chopped or ground

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, combine the lavender and yogurt, then stir in oatmeal until mix has the consistency of a spreadable paste. If the mixture will not be used immediately, store -- covered -- in a refrigerator for up to a day and bring to room temperature before using.

2. Include these directions when giving the face mask mixture:

Pull back your hair. Wash your face and pat dry. Spread the mixture over your face, avoiding the eyes and mouth. Lie down and relax for about 10 minutes, during which time the mask will tighten. Remove the mask by rinsing with tepid water.

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DRY SKIN MASK (ENJOY) July 28, 2005 12:01 PM

Ingredients:

5 drops rose oil
2 tsp. almond oil
2 Tbs. honey

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Spread a light mask all over the face. Leave on for 15 to 20 minutes, then rinse with warm water, followed by cold water (to close the pores). Be sure that the facial skin is clean before applying the mask. This also works great on the backside of hands.

 [ send green star]
 
 August 18, 2005 9:04 PM

lavender Perfume    Oh, Sabila! I have been gathering Lavendar while I have a little break from traveling for my friend.  I must leave tomorrow morning but I have brought enough perfume oils for you and all the women in the harem. Please see that everyone get's some, and there are small ones for the little girl's.
perfume bottlesperfume bottles-1perfume-7
" PLEASE DON'T FORGET COOK."


  "Salaams My Dear." beauty  [ send green star]
 
oooh smells so good omi August 28, 2005 8:34 PM

Just received your package and the ladies are fighting over the pretty bottles. Ok fatimah just wait one min you can say hi to my omi. The smells are so beautiful. My husband say he love the oils you sent me and thank you. Ok ladies say hello! Kalilah:salaam fatimah:oh salaam, zaferah:hey salaam alaikum, naima : salaam and jazakallah sister rabia. Ok omi got to go call you later love you!

Masalaam and ALLAH HAFIZ!

 [ send green star]
 
 October 07, 2005 12:05 AM

 Hammam4.jpg"Turkish Baths            ________                                                and  Hamams"

Turkish Baths or 'hamams' as they are named, are for many aspects of health, not just for  external  cleanli- ness. Before Turkey  was  established  as  a  separate country,  the  Romans,  Byzantines, Ottomans  and nomadic peoples of the region had their own variations of bathing rituals. These traditions combined, creating a  different  variation of these  ancient bathing  habits,

The  Turkish  Bath  (Turkish  Hammam)
The  bather enters the dry heat  of  a  sweating  area. Afterwards,  the  bather  begins  to  perspire  heavily because of a wet steam.The skin is then washed with soap and warm water and the muscles massaged. After being scoured and washed, the bather's body tempera- ture returns to normal  from  swimming  in  cold  water. Closely interweaved with everyday life, as  well  as  the Muslim  mandates  for  cleanliness and  respect for the varied  functions  of  water,  the  hamam will  probably survive  modernity  with many other things in  Western Asia.
Rabia
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ANNOUNCEMENT HENNA SEMINAR... October 30, 2005 7:29 PM



NOTICE:  HENNA SEMINAR WILL BE HELD SATURDAY  DECEMBER 3rd.
LIST OF  SUPPLIES POSTS  IN THE "SULTAN'S TOWER"  NOVEMBER 25th.
A CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION WILL BE AWARDED TO ALL ATTENDING THE SEMINAR.  [ send green star]
 
 November 12, 2005 7:26 PM

In the hammam there were said to be EVIL and GOOD Spirits...
hammam3.jpg
Many of us prayed as we entered the baths and always with the "Left foot" only to leave later with the "Right foot."

Note: Tenth-century Baghdad had 27,000 hammams.
veiled smileyRabia
 [ send green star]
 
THE MENS DAY AT THE BATHS... February 22, 2006 7:36 PM

Today is the men's day at the Hammam.hammam1.jpg
It is true that most hammams are decorated with geometric and arabesque patterns.  Arabesque patterns are based on highly-stylized
vegetal motifs, while geometric patterns rely on the juxtaposition of regular polygons (triangles, squares and hexagons).  These abstract elements are repeated infinitely to create a uniform field of decoration.
hammamceil.jpgHAMMAM CEILING

Arabesque is man's discovery of God.  That is why the Muslim artist never signs his work.  Whethor on tile, wood, stone, plaster, textile, or minitures these works are never signed......           hammam6.jpg

bathhouse.jpg
The bather enters the dry heat of a sweating area. Afterwards, the bather begins to perspire heavily because of a wet steam.The skin is then washed with soap and warm water and the muscles massaged. After being scoured and washed, the bather's body temperature returns to normal from swimming in cold water.
G.W.
 [ send green star]
 
NORTH AMERICA'S FIRST HAMMAM PART 1 February 22, 2006 9:05 PM

      THE STEAMY PLEASURES OF THE MIDEAST
Vncouver's Miraj is Canada's first Islamic steam bath.  Moroccan soap, Arabic tea, plump pillows await.
By Cori Howandbasinhammam.jpg

I am lying face down on a slab of Jerusalem gold-streaked marble, a light mist surrounding me.  In a giant Middle Eastern steam room with soaring archways and columns.  I am alone, save for Fereshta, a young woman from Afganistan, who is giving me a full-body gommage.
Using black Moroccan soap with the consistency of viscous honey, she massages my entire body, then leaves me to steam for about 10 minutes.  When she returns, she scrubs me all over with a loofa, exfoliating dead skin.  It feels heavenly.  Finally, she holds a gold showerhead over me and lukewarm water rains down until I am clean and soft as a baby.
I am in Miraj, Canada's first hammam (Islamic steam bath). which opened in Vancouver in mid-November.
Known for centuries as the silent doctors, hammams are foundthroughout the Middle East, most often as an annex to a mosque.  In seperate areas, men and women bathe and cleanse themselves physically and spiritually in accordance with Islamic hygene and purification laws.
Hammams became popular around 600, after the prophet Mohammed extolled their recreational and religious benefits.  At first, women were forbidden entry but later those who had been ill or had just given birth were allowed.  Today, hammams are an important part of Middle Eastern social life.
Mitaj  (which means paradise) is the dream of Surinder Bains Kassout.
The Victoria-born daughter of Indian parents went to her first hammam-attached to a mosque in the heart of Paris- with her Franco-Algerian husband Madjid.  "I was blown away.  The architecture, the way the tea was served, the energy.  I felt at home.  I knew exactly what to do, and I wasn't embarrassed
by the 80 nude women walking around, doing self-cleansing.  And when I came out I was floating.  I knew then that I must build one.
She returned to Vancouver, sold her travel angency and has spent the past five years preparing for Miraj.
This included visiting hammams throughout the Middle East, though none would reveal their trade secrets.  She also consulted Mikkel Aaland, the San Francisco-based author of "SWEAT," who spent three years studying bathing customs in Russia, Finland, Mexico, Turkey and Greeece.  They believe Miraj may be the only hammam in North America.
The years of preparation have paid off.  Entering Miraj is a little like being in the Taj Mahal.  In the foyer are gold tables from the souks (Middle Eastern bazaars) of Paris, Indian antiques and polished Venetian plaster.  There is a handcrafted mosaic fountain and grilll work over the windows to block the noise from Granville Street.  But it's not just the architecture and the ambiance that distinguish Miraj from the many European-style
spas in Vancouver.  It's the treatments, the staff, the lounge, the tea and sweets.
During my gommage, Fereshta describes the difference between Miraj and the hammam she went to as a child.  "Size," she says with a laugh.  "In Afganistan the hammams are huge and full of women and children."  And, in addition to the steam rooms, there are hot and cold-water baths.

CONTINUED ON NEXT POST...


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NORTH AMERICA'S FIRST HAMMAM PART 2 February 22, 2006 9:13 PM

PART 2  

In many Mideast hammams, the baths are fed by natural mineral water-obviously not an option in mid-town Vancouver.
Miraj accommodates just 20 women a day, or three bookings per hour, according the degree of privacy Kassour believes North American women want.
Thursday is the only day men are allowed.  "They really like the intense steam room," Kassour says.  And, no doubt, the massages.  Offered in seperate rooms, the massages (not gommages but Western-style massages) are preformed by the city's most skilled practitioners.  Facials and body polishing are also available, but the real treat is the goommage.
After the treatments, the staff serves Arabic mint tea and Lebanese sweet cakes in the Sultana Lounge, a plush area with giant beds covered in velvet, with plump pillows and gently swooping drapes.  There are archways, columns and another fountain, this one a replica of a fountain built a millennium ago.
"I want people to feel at home," Kassour says.  "Today, I had three women in the lounge who didn't want
to leave."
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 February 20, 2007 12:08 PM

It's SO interesting!  [ send green star]  [ accepted]
 
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