Istanbul Guide

46

Hamams & Spas Succumbing to a soapy scrub in a steamy hamam is one of İstanbul’s quintessential experiences. Not everyone feels comfortable with baring all (or most) of their body in public, though. If you include yourself in this group, a number of the city’s spas offer private hamam treatments.

Hotel (p184), Four Seasons Istanbul at the Bosphorus (p184), Sumahan on the Water ( % 0216-422 8000; www.sumahan.com; Kuleli Caddesi 43, Çengelköy; r €200-330, ste €300-620; naiW ; g 15, 15F & 15P from Üsküdar) and Vault Karaköy (p183). We haven’t reviewed any gay hamams, as the current socio-political climate makes their legal status ambiguous. BATH PROCEDURE Upon entry you are shown to a camekan (entrance hall or space), where you will be allocated a dressing cubicle (halvet) or locker and given a peştemal (bath wrap) and plastik çarıklar (plastic sandals) or takunya (wooden clogs). Store your clothes and don the peştemal and footware. An attendant will then lead you through the soğukluk (intermediate section) to the hararet (steam room), where you sit and sweat for a while, relaxing and loosening up, perhaps on the göbektaşı (central, raised platform atop the heating source). Soon you will be half asleep and as soft as putty from the steamy heat. The cheap est bath is the one you do yourself, having brought your own soap, shampoo and towel. But the real Turkish bath experience is to have an attendant wash, scrub and massage you. If you have opted for the latter, an atten dant douses you with warm water and lath ers you with a sudsy sponge. Next you are scrubbed with a kese (coarse cloth mitten),

Hamams The concept of the steam bath was passed from the Romans to the Byzantines and then on to the Turks, who named it the hamam. They’ve even exported the concept throughout the world, hence the term ‘Turkish bath’. Until recent decades, many homes in İstanbul didn’t have bathroom facilities and, due to Islam’s emphasis on personal cleanliness, the community relied on the hundreds of hamams throughout the city, often as part of the külliye (mosque complex) of a mosque. Now that most people have bathrooms in İstanbul, hamams are nowhere near as popular, but some carry on due to their roles as local meeting places. Others have become successful tourist attractions. The city’s hamams vary enormously. Some are dank dives where you may come out dirtier than you went in (remember, Turks call cockroaches ‘hamam insects’); others are plain and clean, servicing a predominantly local clientele. A small num ber have built a reputation as gay meeting places (we’re talking truly steamy here), and an increasing number are geared exclu sively towards tourists. A number of hotels in the city have hamams, too. These include Sirkeci Mansion (p181), Arcadia Blue Hotel (p182), Hayriye Hanım Konağı (HHK Hotel; Map p242; % 0212-513 0026; www.hhkhotel. com; Hayriye Hanım Sokak 19, Süleymaniye; s/d €148/158; naWs ; m Haliç) , Pera Palace