Turkish Bath

[Adam McGuirk]

I was reading the account of the 2001 dive by Ken Marschall and he recalls how they were just feet away from the Turkish Bath, a room he felt would have been one of the most well preserved on the ship, then they were called up because of an incoming storm. It was obviously a major disappointment, because it was the last dive on the expedition. My question is, had the Turkish bath been explored before that expidition on previous expeditions, or did Bob Ballard ever explore the Turkish Bath on his most recent expedition?

Thanks, Adam

 

[Nigel Bryant]

Hi Adam,

The Turkish Baths have never been explored. As far as I am aware, Robert Ballard's current expedition is to only film the outside of the ship to have a look at the deterioration. He hasn't penetrated inside the ship since his 1985 visit with his robot Jason Junior I don't think he intends to send his bots into the wreck on this expedition. Hopefully another expedition in the future will film this area next time. When I heard another expedition was heading to Titanic I was hoping to that this part of the wreck was going to explored, but sadly no.

Regards,

Nigel

 

[Mike Bull]

Indeed, there was no interior work done on this (Now completed) current Ballard expedition, so his quick poke around down the staircase opening in 1986 remains his only interior exploration.

 

[Wesley Burton]

I hope there is an expedition soon. I would like to see the swimming pool squash court and turkish baths. Even if they hadnt been called up because of the storm, there is a watertight door which, if closed will mean they wouldnt have been able to gang access. Unless you send an ROV down a boiler intake and hope the wall in that area is gone.

 

[Tripp Carter]

I've been thinking and for the most part I could be wrong about this ... I understand the titanic split around the 3rd and 4th funnels, has anyone ever ventured into the D-Deck Dining Saloon (not the Reception Area) or the A-Deck Lounge? Also, if the doors on the Boat Deck that lead into the Officer's Quarters (via the Grand Staircase) are missing, do you think it'd be possible for them to maybe explore in there too?

 

[Dan Cherry]

Hello, Tripp,
you might want to pick up a copy of the book Ghosts of the Abyss, or read Ken Marschall's wreck report (www.marconigraph.com), or even watch the GotA video. The first two windows of the dining saloon were explored during the 2001 expedition. Just aft of the windows, the ceiling is driven into the floor that is the aft collapse portion of the wreck.
The A-deck lounge cannot be explored for this very reason.
The officer's quarters were explored as well. Check out one of the multi-media mentioned above, or explore the threads on this site. They are chock full of information that will help answer your questions in depth!

Wesley,
the boiler intakes only go to the boilers themselves. Access to the Turkish baths can only be gained by the route that Cameron had planned, prior to being called back to the surface.

 

[Tripp Carter]

Hi,

I recently saw GotA for the first time and I remember seeing the windows but I thought that they were also in the reception room too. I am a little confused though. If the ship broke up around the 3rd and 4th funnels, why would all of the lounge and dining saloon be collapsed? Perhaps I'm not picturing the full the reception room as big as it really is.


*edit* I just saw Mr. Marschall's quick mapping of the wreck of the bow and I was blown away. I guess after being down there for so long anywhere near where the ship broke up was bound to start collapsing.

 

[Dan Cherry]

Hello, Tripp,
Do you have any post-discovery Titanic books? There are many diagrams and paintings which show the wreck today, which should help you visualize the wreck better. There was little support on the aft end of the bow section that when she broke apart and sank to the ocean floor, when she impacted with the bottom, the decks pancaked down where the ship had broken.

 

[Tripp Carter]

As it stands to (and I'm a little embarrassed to say this) the only Titanic stuff I have are James Cameron's movie, The Titanic Collection commissioned by the THI, Titanic by Leo Marriott, and James Cameron's Titanic (book). I used to have a lot of videos that I purchased from FYE regarding the ship's history but I think I donated them to charity because up until a few weeks ago, my Titanic stuff was sitting packed up in my closet not being used or even looked at.

I understand what you're saying though about the pancake effect. We briefly discussed the same issue regarding the World Trade Center's collapse following the 9/11 attacks.

 

[Dan Cherry]

Tripp,
well, yes in a way, both pancake effects were as a result of loss of structural integrity. Since the Titanic has been submerged for over 92 years, this structural integrity is being ever-more compromised. The gymnasium on the boat deck, on more or less an even plain when explored in 1985-86, is now at a heavy slant aft, its walls all but dissolved due to time. Other noticeable changes in the 19 years since the ship was photographed include the opening of holes in the boat deck plating, the falling away of the after portions of the A-deck enclosed screen, the collapse of the bridge bulkheads, the mast falling further into the well deck, among other things.

Such is life when steel and 90+ years of salt water mix.

 

[Tripp Carter]

Thanks Dan, now that you mention it I recall reading about the Gym's slow demise in Marschall's account.

 

[Konrad Hutchins]

Wasn't the superstructure and boat deck made of a thinner material than the lower decks?
So we may loose some of the upper structures but there may still be treasures inside.

I think that a more concerted effort needs to be made to document the inside of the wreck before wreckage from collapsing decks above makes it too hard to access.

I would love to see the Turkish Baths so much.

 

[Tripp Carter]

I believe it has been mentioned on here somewhere that the Boat Deck and A Deck were both indeed made of a thinner, more lighter material and that B Deck was one of the thickest decks of the hull.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>Wasn't the superstructure and boat deck made of a thinner material than the lower decks?<<

Yep. About a quarter of an inch as opposed to the near inch thickness of the hull plates. The fact that it's thinner means that it loses integrity all that much faster over time as salt water corrosion and the microbes take their toll.

>>So we may loose some of the upper structures but there may still be treasures inside. <<

Possibly. Considering the sheer passage of time and what the whole of the ship had been through, the interiors are in a remarkable state of preservation. I wouldn't count on anyone poking around inside once the superstructure caves in however. Eventually, the sheer volumn of steel caving in will make this impossible.

 

[Jonathan Granato]

Were the Turkish Bath fixtures offered for sale during the Olympic auction? Would have made a scintillating cafe, all those trippy tiles.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

Adam, Malcolm Shifrin has a peerless site on the topic of Turkish baths, and also a number of photos and articles on this commodity aboard liners-including Olympic, Berengaria and Titanic. Hours of entertaining and informative research, especially why this luxury was so trendy among the upper class, and everything you ever wanted to know about the layout and decor.
http://www.victorianturkishbath.org
Scroll down to the liner link.

 

[Shelley Dziedzic]

http://www.victorianturkishbath.org/
Scroll down quite a distance to Ocean Liners-I note Mrs. Spedden's diary entry about her dislike of the turkish bath experience,- and I see Parks has added a great photo of one of the floor tiles! Good stuff.

 

[Konrad Hutchins]

>>Possibly. Considering the sheer passage of time and what the whole of the ship had been through, the interiors are in a remarkable state of preservation. I wouldn't count on anyone poking around inside once the superstructure caves in however. Eventually, the sheer volumn of steel caving in will make this impossible.

Sounds like as much needs to be recorded as possible then.
JC has shown that we have the technology to build small, versatile bots to go inside and explore the ship so now is the time to do it before we can no longer do so.