Oil SPA: unusual health baths in Naftalan (Azerbaijan)

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

As you know, Cleopatra maintained her unearthly beauty by regularly taking milk baths. Modern SPA salons offer many ways to rejuvenate your body: baths with essential oils or sea salt are a real delight for those who take care of themselves. But in the Azerbaijani city Naftalan baths are taken with … oil, because its medicinal properties have long been known to people.

Oil baths became popular in Naftalan during the Soviet era, then tourists from all over the country began to come here to improve their health. In the 1980s. this city was annually visited by about 75 thousand people. Due to its unique properties, the oil has a soothing effect, it is also used to treat skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis, and to relieve joint pain.

The popular resort became empty after the outbreak of the war between Azerbaijanis and ethnic Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1988. The hospitals were turned into refugee camps, after the collapse of the USSR, all oil baths were closed. Today, the process of healing with oil is gradually reviving.

People have known about the medicinal properties of oil for a long time: already in the 13th century Marco Polo admired it, who visited Azerbaijan on his way from Venice to China. The famous traveler noted that camels and people with skin diseases are treated with oil. The modern use of this specific "medicine" began in the 1870s. in Tsarist Russia, and in 1912 a German joint-stock company was organized to export oil, which was used for medicinal purposes during the Russo-Japanese War.

Legend has it that as early as the 6th century BC. one of the merchant caravans, during a multi-day march, left a sick camel to die near a muddy lake not far from the city. However, on the way back, they found the animal completely healthy and realized that the waters of the lake were healing. The fame of the miraculous reservoir quickly spread to the nearby villages.

Modern scientists confirm that the oil used in Naftalan for baths has medicinal properties: this is facilitated by the high content of naphthalene in it. Healing baths usually last no more than 10 minutes, then the skin is cleaned, and after that - several baths in the shower. The specific color remains on the skin for three days after the procedure. Of course, the oil after the baths is recycled for reuse, since one barrel is needed for one bath. Considering the high cost of this product on the world market, bathing in an oil bath costs from $ 200 to $ 240.