Hammams can play a significant role in promoting health tourism

Local health traditions as ‘hammams’ can play a significant part in promoting health tourism

BHOPAL: To fight with the life style diseases, government of India now considering replication of the tradition of public steam bath houses – Hammams, across the country.

The Hammam in Bhopal were built in the early eighteenth century by Dost Mohammed Khan. In the Indian sub-continent Bhopal is the lone city which has that public bath, locally called as Hammam-e-Qadimi in the famed Turkish tradition. The hammam opens every year after Diwali and continues till Holi

A team of ministry of health was recently in the city studying Bhopal’s Hammam complex, built in the tradition of the Cemberlitas Hammam of Istanbul.

According to sources, Deputy Advisor Unani, Department of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) Dr Zaki Anwar said, “We are in the process of creating a blueprint of Bhopal’s Hammam. The attempt is to revive the ancient tradition which is considered a cure for many of the lifestyle diseases today.”

Also assistant advisor AYUSH, Dr M A Qasmi said, “Hammams have been very popular in the Mughal era. Medieval era structures like Red Fort, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort and places in Hyderabad had hammams.”

The central government team visited the hammams within Bhopal and Islamnagar on the city outskirts. “We found the one at Islamnagar also in a good condition,” said Dr Anwar. The central team has approached the State Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and proposed the restoration of hammam at Islamnagar.

“The importance of local health traditions can play a significant part in promoting health tourism,” said Dr Qasmi. “Also, the renewed interest in our tradition could give the modern spa a run for its money.” he added.

A small, circular glass covered in the roof let light into the steam chamber. The Hammam-e-Qadimi in Bhopal is about 200 years old, still in use and popular amongst both men and women. It is used particularly by rheumatic and asthmatic patients.

About Hammam-e-Qadimi: The Hammam-e-Qadami is a public bathing area with many windowless chambers. It has massage and waiting rooms and the main chamber is a steam room. The steam for this is generated by burning logs and heating copper plates that store the water. Steam is trapped inside the steam room by way of a series of doors and chambers. These chambers formed gradual transitions from the hot, 140 F humid steam chamber, to the relatively cool, dry outside. From the rooftop one can see five openings called the (naak) nose and (kaan) ears that maintain the ventilation inside.

Ibn-e-Seena’s Unani book ‘Al-Qanoon’ written in 1000 BC says a proper hammam treatment can make a person as fresh as a new-born.