Sandy's Blog
Cromarty and the Turkish Bath
by Casagrandeblog - 05:45 on 20 May 2013
You're right. That IS a Turkish bath. And what's that got to with Cromarty's heritage, I hear you ask. Well, apart from the fact that I visited one yesterday, it's actually got a lot to do with our local history and one of our local buildings.
The building in question is Braelangwell House (on the right), to the west of Jemimaville. 
It was here, in 1815, that David Urquhart was born. He went on to have a pretty exciting life. He became a diplomat in Turkey, where he caused so much embarrassment to the British Government that he was called home and given the sack. He then became an Independent MP, spending his time in the House of Commons trying unsuccessfully to have the Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, impeached as a Russian agent.
But he is best remembered today as the man who introduced the Turkish bath to this country. He was a great admirer of the Turks, including their bathing practices, and in 1862 he designed, opened and managed Britain's first Turkish bath in Jermyn Street in London.
And he has one more lasting claim to fame. During his disastrous diplomatic career, he spent time in Circassia, on the north shore of the Black Sea, where he encouraged the local tribes to fight for their independence from their Russian masters. He turned down a request to lead them in battle, but he did design a flag for them - and here it is. The flag is still flown today as the flag of the Russian Republic of Adygea.
Not bad for a boy from the Black Isle!
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