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If the test of time is any measure, steam bathing has certainly withstood it. For thousands of
years people of all cultures have indulged in the soothing warmth of sweat baths. The Romans
are well-known for their elaborate baths. The wealthy of 200 B.C. India did not consider their
mansion complete unless it included a bathhouse with a steam room. The Muslim Hamman, or
bathhouse, with its domed, central steam chamber is still an integral part of life in Muslim
countries. A derivation of the Hamman, the Turkish bath, has been popular in Europe for centuries.
Few natural health and beauty treatments have such a venerable history as sweat-inducing treatments.
In Finland and Russia, where these treatments have been most popular, sauna and steam bathing dates
back more than a thousand years. However, the inhabitants of frigid climates are not alone in harboring
a burning passion for the misty baths. The ancient Romans had hot rooms in their bath houses and it is
the Turks, the people of Middle Eastern nation that invaded sections of Europe in the Middle Ages, who
are often credited with inspiring the habit of steam bathing in many parts of Europe. A dome-shaped
central steam chamber is to this day an integral part of the Muslim Hammam, or bath house.
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