Rudas Baths

Rudas Bath or Rudas fürdő is a thermal bath in Budapest, Hungary which is claimed to have medicinal properties. It was founded in 1571/1572[1] during the time of Ottoman rule. To date, it retains many of the key elements of a Hammam, exemplified by its Ottoman dome and octagonal pool.
That’s what Wikipedia says and the reality of the baths feels very much like a place that fell out of history. There were many pools of varying temperatures from ice cold to super hot. There were steam saunas, salt saunas, dry saunas, aromatherapy saunas and even a bowl full of ice, just in case you got that overheated.
The best part was the original bath area. A dome covered the main round pool with 4 pools surrounding that with smaller pools of varying temperatures. This domed area was in the same location as the original bath from the 1570’s although it was rebuilt after its destruction during the war.
We spent a nice afternoon moving from tub to tub and room to room. I recalled the spa I visited in Banos, Ecuador, and marveled (and I’m grateful) that the idea of natural hot springs seems to be a universally acceptable way to spend the day.Read more