The Roman Empire flourished for more than 600 years in the face of constant invasion of barbarian hordes from the north and in the end, the Ottoman Horde from the east. The Empire spread far and wide making its way as far north as Southern Britain and France (formerly known as Gaul), while taking hold of almost the entire southern coast of the Mediteranean. These accomplishments could only have come about as a result of two major factors: the vast military might at the disposal of the Roman government, and the groups of engineers that laid the initial groundwork for the future development of the Empire. The integration of a vast network of roads, leading from Italy all the way to Northern France, many of which can still be seen today, provided a fast means of transportation to anywhere within the Empire.
The Roman Empire was one of the first civilizations which created an engineering class. These engineers were treated as lords in their own right, being one of the first castes which could allow a peasant of low birth to make a name for himself in the world. Creating aqueducts and roads, for the first time in Europe, large populations could finally live in a large condensed group, something only previously possible in the civilizations in the Far East and Persia. These engineers left many things left around today, the crumbling aqueducts in cities covering the south of France and Spain, entire cities that have since been built over without the inhabitants knowledge of the cities former glory (Londinus... yeah, London began with the Romans).
Even in present times, the aqueducts of Ancient Rome remain a marvel of engineering. A water source in the mountains would be tapped, and construction would begin, always maintaining the proper declination in order to prevent any turbulent flow which might further erode the brick and stone used, these canals and tunnels would travel through mountains, across valleys stopping every 1000 meters to break into a catch basins where larger debris would remain behind, unable to continue. Upon reaching the city, water would poor into the water chamber, a place high enough in the city to allow gravity forced plumbing throughout. Each location carried an enormous amount of water, in most cases enough to provide the entire population of the city with water for a few days.
This brings me now the point of this entire blog... The Bath Houses.
This first started coming to my attention in Russia, but then after visiting England and seeing Bath, I finally received an understanding of where this idea really came from. In Bath, the Roman citizens had to have a little fun, right? Well, the orgies of Rome weren't that predominant at the time in Briton, and a soldier had to relax after a hard day of hacking up barbarian hordes, so what was the natural thing? Build a big indoor swimming pool and bath area where you could relax. It was one of the few getaways that they could afford in those days, and the idea of 14 year old boys scrapping mud and grease off of the upper class piqued a few peoples interests. So the bath was born. First starting in Rome, it travelled across with the separation with Byzantine, and continued to proliferate throughout the world. Now as you all know, the primary religion in Russia has always been of the Orthodox. Being based nearby in Constantinople, Moscow had the hope for centuries of becoming the next Rome, and a center of religious activity for the eastern world. Needless to say, this didn't happen. But at least they got something out of it.. The Baths.
Now a Russian bath (Banya for those of you up to trying the language) is something I had never really quite been interested in, or for that matter, even knew of before my stay in Siberia. However, after being out of contact with civilization for a week or so, you start to believe that almost anything is better than the smell you are emitting when you wake up in the morning. So one fateful night (and countless others afterwards) I took the plunge. Now, as is proper with Turkish and Russian, and even Roman Baths, the idea is to shock the system between hot and cold extremes, in order to produce a feeling of clarity and alertness afterwards. And it works, but I will still let you know about my first experience to give you a better idea of what I am really talking about.
Like I said, I was without a shower for at least 1 week. I was actually getting quite fond of the smell, but in retrospect, I think it might have been the smells all around. Anyway, I walk into the little wooden hut in the corner of the wellsite. Entering the door, all you see is a bench on the side with clothes hung up on pegs lining the wall. I proceeded in fashion and walked into the next anteroom, wishing I had remembered sandals (green growth on the floors, slippery). So I pass the two shower stalls that are currently occupied and walk in the sauna type room. I check the thermometer, it reads 130°F, and grab a wooden slab and sit down with the other 4 guys trying to sweat an accumulation of 1 week of sweat and dirt out of my pores. At this time, I was still unlearned in the way of the Russian Language, but one of the operators I work with asked me to sit in the other direction, I wasn't sure why, but I figured I was sitting the wrong way. I reposition myself closer to the heater and next thing I know, I feel a sting against my back. Imagine my surprise when I realize that one of the guys are hitting me with a bunch of wet pine branches. Nothing better than smelling like an evergreen forest. After about 10 swings I finally get the guy to stop hitting me, while the only response I get from him is "Good , yeah?". I didn't offer a reply. Walking out, I realize its time to wash all of this sap and pine needles off my back and actually take a real shower. The whole room is scorching hot, what else would I expect then than ice cold water shooting out of the shower head? I hope out of the shower shivering and run back into the Sauna. And so the cycle continues until you can't take it anymore or become a prune. This process, the drastic shock between hot and cold is what most community bath's (especially in the Middle East and Eastern Europe) are all about... well, minus the pine branches...
