Kiraly Bath, the oldest thermal bath in Budapest, was built by the Ottoman Turks in the 16th century. Communal baths like this one (pictured in 2008) were the public’s main means of washing for ...

“So, where do young people here go to hang out?” someone had asked from the back of the van. We hadn’t even seen a sheep, let alone another car, for miles. “The baths,” our guide had shrugged. This ...

For many centuries we have bathed in communal waters. Sometimes for cleanliness but more often for pleasure. Indeed, in ancient Greece, baths were taken in freshwater, or sometimes the sea — which was ...