The hamam especially in the big cities was the heart of social life for any Muslim or Christian women. Personal hygiene, and companionship were the fundamental reasons for coming together. Even wealthy women who had private hamam visited the public bath once a week. They arrived there accompanied by maids and equipped with towels, brushes henna, eye pencil, cretian soap and clogs, special shoes for the bath. Gathering at the hamam became sometimes a sort of celebration in which every lady invited her female friends, brought along her favorite pets while musicians were invited to entertain the female company.
After bathing and masaz, the female guests of the hamam waxed their eye browns, died their hair with henna and did designs on their hands and legs with henna wearing solemnly a linen dress. Sometimes they waxed their entire body with a special waxing mixture. The hamam represented for women what the market represented for men. They learned all political developments and gossips. Sometimes they chose a bride for their sons and whenever the match led to marriage, the party took place in the hamam. The bride's family rented the hamam a few days before the ceremony and entertained the friends with female dancers, musicians and inappropriate spicy stories. Some married women came to the awkward position of becoming acquainted with another of their husband wife whom they did not know.