Category
Steam-Bathing Heritage
What Is Löyly? The Ritual of Steam in Finnish Sauna Culture
Löyly is more than just steam — it's a word Finns use for the entire feel of the heat in a sauna, and throwing it is a small, deliberate ritual with its own tools and etiquette. Here's what the word really means.
Four Steam-Bathing Traditions: Finnish Sauna, Turkish Hammam, Russian Banya, and Korean Jjimjilbang
Heat and steam as a bathing ritual shows up across an unusually wide range of cultures, each with its own architecture, tools, and etiquette. A tour of four distinct traditions and what sets each apart.