 |
 |
35 CONGRESS OF THE ISMH, IN ISTANBUL
|
|
|
HEALTHY ROUTES will be presented in the
international forum whose chairman will be Prof. Dr. Zeki Karagülle
"Al Andalus, Route through
the Hammams Culture" pertaining to the interactive series Healthy
Routes, designed by Grupo Termas and the scientific journalist specialized in
thermalism, Mayte Suárez Santos, it will be presented in the 35th Congress of
the International Society of Medical Hydrology and Climatology (ISMH) that will
be held from 6 to 10 June of 2006, in Istanbul.
The scientific committee composed of Prof. Dr. Zeki Karagulle (Turkey)
chairman of the 35 International Congress and Vice-chairman of the ISMH, Dr.
Tamas Bender, (Hungary) chairman of ISMH, Arif Dönmez (Turkey) Congress
Secretary, Pál Geher (Hungary) Treasurer of the ISMH, Christoph Gutenbrunner (Germany)
Vice-chairman of ISMH and Pedro Cantista (Portugal) Director of the Group of
Balneotherapy of the UEMS, among others specialists in thermalism at worldwide
level, they accepted the resentation after considering its scientific interest
as a new concept of alternative tourism to the stress.
With a new approach and taking as starting point the Healthy Routes, the
communication exposes the influence in the XXI century of Al Andalus cultural
legacy, that cover from the VIII century to the XV century, in the territories
dominated by the Arabs, especially in the southern part of Iberian Peninsula.
Al Andalus has been an enriching Islamic civilization that came from East and
overflowed toward West, and to rediscover it, nothing is better that travel to
the heart of the andalusi cultural power: Granada city and to follow the “Route
for the Hammams Culture” or Arabs  Baths, of great interest for the thermalism
schoolars and there we will discover the natural cult of the water as symbol of
corporal and spiritual purification according to the precepts of the Koran, and
of poetic inspiration in Ibn Zamrak's beautiful verses, perpetuated in the walls
of the Alhambra.
THE HAMMAMS
 
In the Alhambra it is the Palace of Comares a hammam with several rooms
following the pattern of the Roman Thermal Baths, in perfect condition. In the
Albaycin in Granada, there is the most complete and older public bath of Al
Andalus, “The Bañuelo” or the Axares. It was built in the XI century, being king
Ziri Badis, it is said that its columns and capitals were recovered from the
Visigothic ruins. There are hammams in “The baths of the Polinario”, remains of
baths in the street of the Agua, in the Casa de las Tumbas and in the Escuaela
de las Mercedarias, all them in Granada.
The baths proliferated over the whole territory of Al-Andalus, not only in
the urban nuclei, but also in the rural ones. From that is deducted the
importance that for those Muslim-andalusíes the water had, in the case of the
baths, they had an double objective: corporal and spiritual cleaning.
The historical hammams, were declared Architectural Artistic Monument in 1918
and since 1985 they have the consideration of Good of Cultural Interest.
The study highlights as conclusion that the modern “hammams” they have a similar
design to those of the authentic Arab baths of the Alhambra. Diffuse Luz, a warm
and welcoming atmosphere, the pleasant scent to oils and essences.
Its healthy effect has been recognized scientifically and at the present there
are more than 100 centers distributed by the whole country.
THE HEALTHY ROUTES
 The
Healthy Routes were presented previously in the National Congress of Tourism
of Health, in Termas de Rio Hondo (Argentina), in the Seminar of Termalismo of
Peru, in the Congress of Vitelle (France) and in the World Congress of
Thermalism held in Budapest (Hungary).
In the 35 International Congress of the ISMH, the “Route through the Hammams
Culture” has special relevance because its presentation in Turkey, which is a
thermal country par excellence due to its geologic conditions, since it is
located in a tectonic and volcanic area. In this country we can find more than
1.300 thermal sources with important healthy properties and whose waters have a
temperature ranging from 20 Cº to 110 Cº and rich in sulfur, sodium and calcium
among other minerals.
On the other hand, the thermalism is a concept that is very deep rooted in
the Turkish culture, since the famous Turkish baths are previous to the Roman
empire, and the nomads already had their own ritual baths. The Turkish baths or
hammams combine four elements: the dry heat, the humid heat, the cold and the
massage. These elements stimulate and clean the body besides being beneficial
for the health.
CONGRESS ISMH.
  The
35 International Congress of the ISMH organized by the Society of Medical
Hydrology and Balneology of Turkey, under the chairmanship of M. Zeki Karagüelle,
will take place in the Cultural Center and Military Museum of Istanbul. More
than 500 thermalism experts from all over the world, will participated.
Among the topics that will be exposed it is necessary to highlight the
Medicine and the Climatology, Thalassotherapy and Heliotherapy, the concept of
therapies of water, the Hydrotherapy and the Balneologyy in Reumatology, special
agents in Balneology (radón, sulfpur, dioxide of carbon, etc), standard of
quality in Balneology and the specialization in Balneology, Medical Hydrology
and Climatology.
As for the international invited speakers to highlight the participation of
Prof. Dr. F. Maraver Eyzaguirre, Director of the School of Medical Hydrology of
the University Complutense of Madrid that will present the Mineral-Medicinal
Waters of Spain.
For more information: www.ismh2006.com/
|
Home 
Thermal Update 
