HAMAM Magazine



OPEN

This issue of Hamam is not just dedicated to the freedom that comes with bathing, but also to vulnerability and openness — simply another way for us to let go. Let the water be a medium to allow yourself to be seen.

With an open mind and this issue in hand, consider the many ways we can let go, whether that’s through documentary photography of British naturists or an exploration into Japanese sento. Or contemplate lum, medicinal soaking in Tibet, and the impact of a communal footbath in Amsterdam.

STRANGE

Soak into something strange. In this limited issue of Hamam, dive into the weird and sometimes wild bathing culture that surrounds us. You're invited to consider how sometimes the strangest things are actually normal, and the most normal things are truly strange.

Allow your curiosity to guide you through this limited issue. Explore sculptural soap ears, and peruse Ruth Kaplan’s photography of bathers across the world around the turn of the millennium. Contemplate the sea as a strange fantasyland in French New Wave cinema, and many more stories and pieces that venture into the unknown and the obscure. 

A Declaration of Letting Go

Calling All You, Curious Minds — 

It is with great jubilation that we write today to cordially invite you to celebrate the art and culture of bathing. On this occasion — and with sincere intentions of more to follow — we emancipate ourselves from the technological trappings of the modern world and release mental afflictions in the name of pleasure, relaxation, and growth. We ask you kindly excuse whatever preconceptions you hold regarding identity. There is no judgment or self-censorship here. 

In these pages, we create space for the greatest liberation: the freedom of expression. Here, we offer our distinguished audience contemplative retreat. 

HAMAM is not simply a magazine! It is an object of Letting Go that you can hold in your hand.

Let us explore these varied practices together, and we will  — with due regard and great consideration — unearth the many particulars of history's greatest healer: the bath. It is this ancient practice of transformation from which our inspiration flows endlessly. At the place where water and skin meet for ritualistic cleansing we declare a solemn truth: nobody is the same, but everyone is equal and welcome. Our confession is unabashed … we are bathing obsessed. 

If you choose, we wish you safe passage beyond our friendly waters. However, we hope you will abide, and enter our safe harbors so we may collectively nourish our minds and heal our bodies. We assume this mantle, rather boldly, in our sacred role to rid the world of suffering. 

To you, Unconventional Spirits — with open hearts, creative & big ideas — we dedicate HAMAM.

With fondness,

Ekin & Steve, founders

Summer 2020