The hammam

The old towns has their own rituals for taking their baths, those rituals arrive to occident under the name of Hammam (Arab baths), although Hammam word means "baths room". In Spain, it is thought that in the Middle Age only the islamic people took baths, this is a wrong idea, because Jewishs and Christians also took baths, but among Christians this was only inheritance of kings, aristocracy or even a part of the clergy and some middle-classes people.

They are based on the old Roman thermas, there was from the most simple and economic to the most sophisticated with all the items for the sybarite people, the price also oscillates, increasing with the luxury and the benefits that they offered.

The origin of this popular tradition probably comes from the reccommendations about hygiene and ablutions the islamic religion impressed on their believers, a hadith from the Prophet says:''The hygiene is a manifestation of faith'', for the islamic world, the water is a divine gift (maybe because of its poverty in the deserts where they lived). Water also means a deep Knowledge and puruty, for them is the drink by excellence...''that douse the thirst of the soul'', for those reasons and many others, for the islamic people, the Hammam is an obligated way in the biggest events in their lifes, birth, circumsition and marriage.

In a Hammam, every people met at the same time looks like the other, there wasn't social or classes differences. But, what is a Hammam? We can say that also a bath it also was a rest place, that provide hygiene which there wasn't in their houses, and it also was a place of ideas interchange and social, politic and cultural conversation.

Recovering our ancestral andalusi tradition;:

Hamman, Arab Baths are placed in Santa Ana Street, No; 16 (near Plaza Nueva), they are similar to the real Arab Baths from the Alhambra, the beauty of the muslim architecture with its arches and jealousy, the light is diffuse and it warm environment with a nice oils and esences smell helps to create a magic climate which carry us to our Andalusi past.

How to take a Hammam in this instalations? It has its ritual. Its rules. Its time. You have to get in wet, it is like the senses awake through the water.

When we arrive, the give us towels ''you only have to carry with you, your swimming costume and if you have long hair, the best thing is carrying a rubber band'', they also offer us lockers, where we can leave our things. After that, we go to the dressing room where we leave our clothes, (and our occidental spirit), we put on our swimming costume and we go to the al-bayt al-maslaj or hall, a beautiful columnsroom where we take a quick shower, and then we pass to the hallway, which is a rest place, where during the bath we can sit down to talk in low voice (this is very important, because the relax arrives with the help of the water rumour, the music and the esences smell), or simply to rest...Next to this room is located the cold-water room or al-bayt al-wastani, although this isn't our next stop, we go to the al-bayt al–sajun which is the hot-water room, where we get into the warm water during ten minutes, finally it has a new and wide warm-water pool. In every room we find hot-water fountains, where, if you want, to follow the ritual you must wet your arms , legs and back... And when we are completely relaxed and our skin ready, we take our ten minutes massage with aromatherapy. (there is the possibility of increasing the time of the massage by a minimum increase of price).