Victorian Turkish baths

Noun

Victorian Turkish bath (plural Victorian Turkish baths)

1. A bathing procedure in which the bather sweats freely in a room heated by hot dry air (or in a series of two or three such rooms maintained at progressively higher temperatures), usually followed by a cold plunge, a full body wash and massage, and a final period of relaxation in a cooling-room.
   • The system of heating used in Victorian Turkish baths, however, differed dramatically from the Turkish model.2007 March, Susan Aykut, “Washing from the inside out: Turkish baths down under”, in TASA Review (The Asian Arts Society of Australia), volume 16/1, page 11
2. (in plural, sometimes) a specific named establishment offering such baths.
   • Harrogate Victorian Turkish Baths offer guided tours on several weekday mornings where a resident historian will guide you through the building's unique history […]2021 July 25, “Turkish Baths Harrogate: the last fully working Victorian Turkish bath in England”, in Atlas Obscura, retrieved 25 May 2024