Arab baths

The prophet Mohammed said "Hygiene is an act of faith" and for Islam water is a symbol of purity and bathing and grooming is a pleasurable act of purification of body and spirit. The Arab public Hammam (Baths) were central buildings within the Islamic society, not only used for the simple cleanliness, but also for social meetings, civic acts and even religious ceremonies. Given the Islamic precept of hygiene, both men and women visited these buildings, although at different times and on different days, and performed all acts of personal hygiene, from bathing to shaving or relaxing massages. These were centers of relaxation, where daily problems were eliminated and the spirit and social inequalities were cleansed, in a bath all men were equal, whether they were rich merchants or vassals. The Arab Hammam (Baths) are heirs of the ancient Roman baths, although on a smaller scale. The Muslims eliminated all those elements that they found unnecessary (pools, bathtubs, etc) and left a system more based on the steam than on the water of the baths. This type of buildings conserved the structure of these thermal baths of reception room, cold room, warm room and hot room. These constructions were made with thick walls, to favor its isolation, and vaults with skylights that gave some light and allowed to regulate the interior temperature, in addition the walls were painted and tiled to give a more beautiful aspect to the set. Another thing to keep in mind is that the doors were built "unhinged" to avoid drafts between rooms. In the reception room or entrance was where one undressed and prepared; in the cold room were those who had left or were waiting to enter the hotter rooms, depending on the size used to have rooms where to sit and talk; the warm room used to be the largest, as it was the center of passage and being in the building; the hot room was the highest temperature and where the steam baths were given. The operation of these steam baths consisted of hot air that circulated through ducts, located on the floor and walls of the warm and hot room, coming from a boiler that was attached to the hot room. The Arab Baths of Segura de la Sierra are located down the street of the Church and then down the street Caballeros Santiaguistas. The baths are composed of three longitudinal naves corresponding to the cold rooms, the outermost, warm and hot, the innermost, with spaces bounded on the sides by double horseshoe arches and barrel vault with skylights. This monument was restored in 1971, when it was used as a dwelling. The lack of original elements makes it almost impossible to date, although some elements found suggest that they were built in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, a period that coincides with a great splendor of the population. As a note to comment that they are one of the few Arab baths that are conserved in the province of Jaén together with those of the capital.