Turkey feels like an entirely new world. I’m not going to bore you all with the details of our tedious journey, but I have to tell you what I saw in Sophia! It’s one of the most beautiful towns in the Turkish Empire and it’s famous for its hot baths. I purposely stopped in Sophia just to see the bathhouses. I hired a Turkish coach to drive me to the bagnio. The coach is entirely covered with scarlet cloth, lined with silk, and richly embroidered. So gorgeous! This covering hides the persons sitting inside, but can be thrown back. Many of the ladies peep through the lattices. When I arrived at the bathhouse at around 10 a.m., it was already filled with women. The bathhouse is built of stone and is in the shape of a dome. There weren’t any windows except for the roof, allowing a lot of light in. After I paid the portress who stands at the door (I noticed the ladies of quality paying her so I made sure to do the same), I entered a large, marble paved, room with four fountains of cold water; the water fell into basins first and then ran on to the floor in little channels which carried streams of water into the next room. There were also marble sofas, but they were so hot with steams of sulfur that you couldn’t possibly stay there with your clothes on.
Although I was not dressed like the women at the bathhouse (I just had one of my dresses on), they treated me with such kindness and civility. I am certain there isn’t a single lady back in England who would have treated a stranger with such politeness. They actually repeated over and over to me “Uzelle, pek uzelle,” which means, “Charming, very charming.”
They sat on sofas covered with cushions and rich carpets and their slaves sat behind them, but you couldn’t tell the difference in their social rank by their clothes because they were all…well, naked. However, there wasn’t anything sexually immodest about them! I cannot describe to you in words how utterly beautiful these women are. They walked and moved with the same grace that John Milton describes of Eve in Paradise Lost. They resembled the perfectly proportionate goddesses drawn by Guido and Titan, their skin is shiningly white, and their beautiful hair is divided into tresses and braided with either pearl or ribbon. I swear if it were the fashion to go naked, their faces wouldn’t be noticed. I greatly admired their fine skin and perfect body shapes. I secretly wished that Mr. Gervase [1] had the ability to go invisible and observe these ladies in their different postures, some lying on their cushions, others conversing, braiding hair, working, or drinking coffee…I think it would improve his art ;)
One of the women insisted I sit by her and undress for the bath. The ladies were adamant in persuading me to undress, but I had to refuse. In the end, I was forced to open my dress and show them my corset, which satisfied them. They couldn’t believe I was so locked up in that machine and they attributed my wearing it to my husband.
I wanted to spend more time with the women but Mr. W wanted to continue our journey to Constantinople early the next day, so I left before I really wanted. Anyway, I’m sure I entertained you with a sight you’ve never seen in your life and no male, travel book can inform you of! It is like death for a man to be caught in one of these places.
Although I was not dressed like the women at the bathhouse (I just had one of my dresses on), they treated me with such kindness and civility. I am certain there isn’t a single lady back in England who would have treated a stranger with such politeness. They actually repeated over and over to me “Uzelle, pek uzelle,” which means, “Charming, very charming.”
They sat on sofas covered with cushions and rich carpets and their slaves sat behind them, but you couldn’t tell the difference in their social rank by their clothes because they were all…well, naked. However, there wasn’t anything sexually immodest about them! I cannot describe to you in words how utterly beautiful these women are. They walked and moved with the same grace that John Milton describes of Eve in Paradise Lost. They resembled the perfectly proportionate goddesses drawn by Guido and Titan, their skin is shiningly white, and their beautiful hair is divided into tresses and braided with either pearl or ribbon. I swear if it were the fashion to go naked, their faces wouldn’t be noticed. I greatly admired their fine skin and perfect body shapes. I secretly wished that Mr. Gervase [1] had the ability to go invisible and observe these ladies in their different postures, some lying on their cushions, others conversing, braiding hair, working, or drinking coffee…I think it would improve his art ;)
One of the women insisted I sit by her and undress for the bath. The ladies were adamant in persuading me to undress, but I had to refuse. In the end, I was forced to open my dress and show them my corset, which satisfied them. They couldn’t believe I was so locked up in that machine and they attributed my wearing it to my husband.
I wanted to spend more time with the women but Mr. W wanted to continue our journey to Constantinople early the next day, so I left before I really wanted. Anyway, I’m sure I entertained you with a sight you’ve never seen in your life and no male, travel book can inform you of! It is like death for a man to be caught in one of these places.
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