Joshua Diaz, age 14, of Helena, Mont., for his question:

JUST WHAT IS A TURKISH BATH?

The Turks of medieval times believed in taking hot air baths to preserve health.. People in the western world liked taking hot baths and expanded the idea to come up with what is now called the Turkish bath.

The process starts with the bather, wearing either a bathing suit or nothing at all, entering a sweating room which has dry heat in temperatures of about 150 degrees Fahrenheit. He then passes to a room in which wet steam reaches a temperature of about 125 degrees.

This causes the bather to perspire freely.

The skin is then washed with warm water and soap or salve, and an attendant massages the body muscles. After being completely scrubbed and rubbed, the bather dries with a rough cloth or Turkish towel. Sometimes the hard skin of the feet is rubbed off with pumice stone.

Finally the bather takes a cold shower or a swim and then rests until his body temperature returns to normal.

The Turkish bath purifies the body of grease and dirt and benefits many muscular ills. But if a person has heart trouble or a kidney disease, he should never take a Turkish bath.

The Russian bath is similar to the Turkish bath, except that only steam is used. The Finns have a system of steam bathing called a sauna.