The Ottoman sea baths -the development of the culture of swimming in Turkey

Sea baths are wooden structures that are closed on four sides and built on the sea. There are two types of sea baths, public and private. Public sea baths were seasonal public enterprises. Private sea baths were set up in front of the mansions and used by the owners of the mansions. Public sea baths were more sloppy than private sea baths. Special sea baths, on the other hand, would appear as decorated, elegant boxes in front of the mansions. Thanks to these places that have lost their function today, it is thought that people have gained the habit of swimming in the last days of the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, sea baths can be called the ancestor of beaches. Ottoman society has always attached importance to the summer resort tradition. When the summer season came, the people settled in cool and clean places. However, at the first times, it is seen that the sea is not included in the summer habit. The people was prefer fresh water sources rather than the sea to cool off. The reason for this is the perception that sea water is dirty. It should also be remembered that the perception of privacy affects the approach to the sea. Negative approach to the sea was also present in Europe. However, with the discovery of the health benefits of sea water, the negative approach to the sea has come to an end. It is understood that sea baths became widespread after this period. However, sea baths found their place in the summer tradition at the beginning of the 20th century. The public showed more interest in these places for treatment. When the works related to the sea of the period are examined, it is seen that the effects of the sea on human health are mentioned. The same situation can be found in memoirs and writings dealing with the period. Sea baths have been an important part of social life in the Ottoman Empire for a long time. With the emergence of beaches, the age of these spaces has come to an end. Today, it has been completely removed from memories. Therefore, no comprehensive study has been conducted on sea baths. Reşat Ekrem Koçu done the first academic study on the subject. It is a repetition of Koçu's work in subsequent studies. There are hardly any book studies on sea baths. Burçak Evren has a work that deals with sea baths in Istanbul only. Anyway, all of the studies related to the subject are on Istanbul. Sea baths in other coastal cities have not been mentioned much. The purpose of this thesis work is to fill this gap and it is to provide comprehensive information about sea baths by bringing together the information. At the same time, by examining the relationship of Ottoman society with the sea through these spaces, a modest contribution to the literature has been attempted. This thesis study on Ottoman sea baths consists of four chapters. In the first part, the emergence process of sea baths is mentioned. In this section, administrative regulations related to sea baths and works related to sea baths of the period are included. In the chapter, the relationship of the Ottoman society with the sea is examined from different aspects. Finally, the architectural features of the sea baths are emphasized in the chapter. In the second part, information is given about the sea baths established in other coastal cities, especially in Istanbul. In the third part, sea baths are evaluated from different aspects. In the last part, the transition process to beaches is discussed. While preparing this thesis, Presidential Ottoman Archives, catalogs and collections were benefited. In addition, with sea baths in the Ottoman period relevant published works were also examined. Periodicals, encyclopedia articles and newspaper articles related to the subject were scanned. In addition, many memoirs and foreign sources have been benefited from. The content was enriched by scanning the visual resources.