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Healthful steam
baths (hamam) have been
popular in Turkey for thousands of
years,
many of them
surviving from Hellenic and Roman times.
The Ottomans perfected
the hamam, or Turkish
bath which, like the Roman bath, had
three rooms: the grand, steamy hot room (caldarium) for
steam-soaking and massage; the warm room (tepidarium) for
washing with soap and water; and the cool room for
resting or napping (perhaps in a private
cubicle) after the bath with a cup
of Turkish
coffee or a glass
of tea.
In Ottoman times, hamams were social
centers,
and they were the only baths in Turkey
until the mid-20th century when western-style
tub-bath-and-shower plumbing began
to be accepted.
Today modern Turks may shower in the
morning before going to the office,
but many still reserve time for a weekly
steam-and-scrub at a hamam, a
good drying-off with Turkish
towels, followed by an hour's relaxation,
tea, and conversation with friends—one
of life's small but significant pleasures.
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Cool
room of the Cağaloğlu
Hamam,
with a marble fountain and,
on the upper level, cubicles
for resting after
the bath.
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When you travel to Turkey, you should
experience a Turkish bath. Every Turkish
town still has at least one hamam,
and cities have many. Most are simple,
functional, and inexpensive, but the
historic hamams, especially
those built by the sultans to serve
their imperial mosques, are beautiful
works of Ottoman
architecture made of fine marble
with rich decoration.
Here
are tips for women at Turkish
baths.
For more on the hamam experience,
read my article "Taking
Tea in Turkey."
To take your steam bath experience
to a higher level, see Thermal
Spa Resorts in Turkey.
Before the advent of modern bathrooms
in homes and hotels, the hamam/public
bath was
the bathroom for the community.
Everyone went there regularly, and
prices were low. Now that a trip to
the hamam is looked upon as a special
occasion, and even a luxury, prices
have skyrocketed. Instead of equalling
the cost of a light lunch, your hamam
visit may now equal or exceed the cost
of your hotel room, especially at the
most historic and architecturally prominent
hamams.
Favorite hamams for foreign
visitors to Istanbul include
these:
Ayasofya Hürrem Sultan Hamamı
Known also as Roxelana's Bath,
this nearly five-century-old Turkish
bath, a work of the Ottoman master architect Mimar
Sinan, has been beautifully
restored at a cost of TL17
million. Located right in Sultanahmet between Ayasofya and
the Sultanahmet
(Blue) Mosque, it
offers premium service at a premium price
(close to €100 per
person when tips and extras are included)
in its separate, twin men's and women's
sections.
Çemberlitaş
Hamamı (chem-behr-LEE-tahsh),
only a 10-minute walk from Sultanahmet and
the Hippodrome west
(uphill) along Divan
Yolu,
a historic bath designed by the great
Ottoman
architect Mimar
Sinan.
Cağaloğlu
Hamamı,
on Yerebatan Caddesi only a three-minute
stroll from the Hippodrome,
historic, ornate and touristy. The
name is pronounced
"djah-AHL-oh-loo hah-mah-muh." I've
had mixed reports: some visitors satisfied,
others feeling their "massage" was
perfunctory and not worth the lofty
price (€50) paid.
Galatasaray
Hamamı, in
Beyoğlu near Galatasaray
Square, elaborate,
historical, touristy.
Every district in Istanbul has its
own hamam, usually un-touristy, and
therefore simpler and cheaper. Many
of these neighborhood places many not
present your vision of a historic,
atmospheric Turkish bath. You might
ask at your hotel for a nearby, local
hamam recommendation.
Please contact
me and let me know
what sort of experience you have—good,
bad, normal, indifferent—in
any of these baths so that I can make
accurate recommendations to future
visitors. Thanks!
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