From past to present: The relationship between thermal water and thermal spaces

Water; has been one of the determinants of the way of life of people in all cultures from Antiquity to today. In order to fulfill the act of bathing, which is one of the indispensable needs of people in the historical process; humankind had firstly bathed themselves in the rivers and seas, then created open and closed rooms for the act and at last, they created hammams and baths, which are the main source of the modern bathroom culture. Turkish hammams, which are one of the most important water structures that had lived up to our time, is a type of structure which consists of the interaction of Turkish hammam with Anatolian bath culture. Hammams; are socialization places as well as the act of bathing. Thermal waters are the natural resources that humans use to protect their health and provide treatment for centuries. In the present century, people want to benefit from globalized health services in the globalizing world in order to protect their health and to reach effective treatment methods. This treatment, which is also supported by medical science, continues its development on the world. The concept of being healthy; is not something that can only held in physical way but it's a concept which is also spiritual and sociocultural. Water therapies have been applied since the ancient times. SPA centers today are the new places for water therapies. Today, with the increasing importance given to living healthy; in parallel with the demands of the users, sauna-steam-water systems have come to the fore as medical supporting elements. Modern consumers do not seek scientific and technological developments solely for medical and therapeutic purposes, but also to stay ''young'' and ''beautiful''. The aim of this study is to discuss the change in the construction of bathing and water-based treatment spaces, depending on the use of water for different purposes in historical continuity in order to open new horizons in the design of SPA centers. The historical development of bathing, the place it has in the community and the reflection of the bathing traditions were presented. The effects of Turkish hammams on today's SPA sites have been examined. In order to see what these effects are, the Turkish hammam culture and the interior features of the Turkish hammam were examined first. Then, the development of thermal tourism, health tourism and SPA industry has been investigated. From the old baths to the contemporary SPA facilities; the change of spatial quantities, the change of existing functions and the added new functions are discussed within the scope of the research. The city of Bursa was chosen as the study area. The hammams of Bursa, the baths in the city center and the SPA sites in the selected thermal hotels were examined. The SPA locations of the 40 baths and 10 thermal hotels in the historical city of Bursa were examined one by one with the written and visual data. Baths and SPA venues were examined in terms of their location in the city, their relations with their immediate surroundings and their spatial characteristics. As a result of the examination, comparative analyzes were conducted to determine spatial and functional changes; in the conclusion section, the effects of Turkish hammam culture on the design of the SPA center and suggestions for future designs were presented. Keywords: Bursa, Baths, Thermal springs, Health tourism, SPA, SPA Hotels