Queen Isabella and in Europe

Did you know that bathing in Europe used to be considered sinful, and Europeans were notoriously foul-smelling due to extreme dirtiness? A Russian envoy to the French king Louis XIV described his odor as "dirtier than that of a wild animal," and one of his mistresses, called Montespan, would soak herself in a tub of perfume to avoid smelling him! The Russians themselves were described by the traveler Ahmad ibn Fadlan as "the filthiest creatures of God, not cleansing themselves after urine or feces," with the Russian czar Peter even urinating on the palace wall in front of people. Queen Isabella I of Spain, who persecuted Muslims in Andalusia, only bathed twice in her lifetime and destroyed Andalusian baths. King Philip II of Spain banned bathing altogether in his country, and his daughter Isabella II swore not to change her underwear until the end of a three-year siege of a city, which led to her death. This is just about the royalty, not to mention the general population! The French perfumes famous in Paris were invented to overpower the foul smell, as diseases would spread due to this filth, with plagues claiming half or a third of the population periodically. For example, the largest European cities like Paris and London had populations of only 30 to 40 thousand at most, while Islamic cities exceeded a million inhabitants. Native Americans would put flowers in their noses when encountering European invaders due to their unbearable smell! French historian Dribeau said, "We Europeans owe the Arabs (meaning Muslims) for obtaining the means of comfort in our daily lives, as Muslims taught us how to maintain cleanliness. They were the opposite of Europeans who only changed their clothes when they became dirty and emitted foul odors. We started imitating them in changing and washing our clothes. Muslims wore clean, bright clothes, and some adorned them with precious stones like emeralds, rubies, and coral. Cordoba was known for its three hundred baths, while European churches viewed bathing as a sin and vice." This information is from the memoirs of the writer Sandor Marai and official documents from Spain between 1561 and 1761.