TBy - S&M Publication ltd

HEALTH & WEALTH INCENTIVE MAGAZINE
By:Dr. Kazim Besirli Istanbul University Health Tourism
Health tourism can be defined as the people traveling to other destinations
to be treated and thermal therapy is greatly included in
this definition. The dates and the institutions as far back as the
Roman times. "Travel to be cured" had been said by the Moslem
prophet Hz.Muhammed and this shows that this habit has been
formed ages ago and brought about the institutions that reached to
our age. Before the Romans especially some of the antique cities at
the Western Anatolia had central heating systems and the hot
water baths"HAMAM" worked with the thermal waters. Especially
during the Roman Period, thermal water usage as a classical
Roman custom has spread to the world. Also Cesar is known to
have said that "the tribes without thermal waters and hamams are
barbarians". The Seljuk and the Ottomans have valued this old
Anatolian tradition and had the Turkish Hamam idiom accepted
internationally as the Roman Hamams. The geological thermalists
use the SPA or HAMAM as a shortened definition for the thermal
institutions. Turkey is located on a very important geothermal belt
which in a way is a gift for the country but by the same token not a
very joyful situation in the short/long term. However, here we have
to talk about the healing thermal waters and proudly add that
Turkey is amongst the first 7 in rich geothermal sources with great
potential. There are more than 1300 thermal waters from
20degreesC to 110degreesC, with a floe of 2-500lt./sn.
There are approximately 250 thermal centers from these geothermal
resources.
Salus per Aquam
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Old Hieropolis city was built on the rich mineral waters running
underneath her and the white lakes formed on the hills from the
mineral water flowing from the mountains, is spectacular. No
doubt, that the habitants of Kaunos of old Lycian has had baths at
the rich muddy mineral rich waters of the Koycegiz Lake.
Izmir-Balcova thermal waters are located in the Agamemnon
Hamam place that has been known for the healing effects of its
waters since the Roman period. The first settlement place of the
Ottoman Empire, Bursa had been established at the skirts of the
Mount Olympos now called Uludag. The natural thermal waters at
Cekirge encouraged the Ottomans to built big domed hamam complexes
at the place where Roman and Byzantium hamam complexes
were during the reign of I Murat (1359-1389).
From Romans to Cleopatra
Health tourism these days makes us recall SPA Centres. The original
name being "Salus Per Aquam""SPA"is the name of the water
therapies exercised since the Roman times.
Healing with water means the usage of water in different heat levels
amd with different methods giving the feeling of wellness with
the application of these systems in a compact theraphy.
The mineral water, in other words thermal waters, has healing
effects from high-blood pressure to cholestrol, from artirithis to
dermatological care. Therefore whenever water and health are
pronounced together, "thermal waters and hamam" comes to our
visiual thinking. This has been a trend all through history, even
Cleopatra came to the Bolu thermal waters for beauty cures.
The civilization brought stress that created health problems
resulting in job inefficiency. This situation created the need to
escape into nature and get cures in thermal waters and relaxing
climatic conditions.
Thermalism and Climatizm
The use of mineral thermal waters and mud's together with the climatic
and environmental factors of the area, under the guidance of