Istanbul Guide

90

CRATUS TOUR TOUR ( % 0212-235 1810; www.cratustour.com; up to 5 adults €180) Tayfun and team offer cultural tours focusing on topics such as İ stanbul’s Jewish heritage. The Istanbul Classics tour is their best, covering Sultanahmet’s highlights and the Grand Bazaar, where Tayfun’s father worked. The City Walls and Golden Horn tour covers the Western Dis tricts including the Kariye Museum (Chora Church) and Eyüp. CAFERA Ğ A MEDRESESI COURSE Map p238 ( % 0212-513 3601; www.tkhv.org; So ğ ukkuyu Ç ı kmaz ı 5, off Caferiye Sokak; pri vate 1hr classes ₺ 100; j Sultanahmet) This 16th-century medrese (seminary) houses a a cultural organisation that teaches and promotes traditional Turkish handicrafts. Classes are available in calligraphy, mar bling, glass painting, porcelain decoration and more. English is spoken. CA Ğ ALO Ğ LU HAMAMI HAMAM Map p238 ( % 0212-522 2424; www.cagaloglu hamami.com.tr; Prof Kaz ı m İ smail Gürkan Cadde si 24; bath, scrub & massage packages €40-120, self-service €30; h 8am-10pm; j Sultanahmet) Built in 1741 by order of Sultan Mahmut I, this gorgeous hamam offers separate baths for men and women and a range of bath services that are – alas – overpriced con sidering how quick and rudimentary the wash, scrub and massage treatments are. Consider signing up for the self-service treatment (€30) only. AMBASSADOR SPA HAMAM Map p240 ( % 0212-512 0002; www.hotel ambassador.com; Ticarethane Sokak 3; Turkish bath treatments €30, massage treatments €25 60; h 9am-10pm; j Sultanahmet) There’s no Ottoman ambience on offer at the spa cen tre of this bland hotel just off Divan Yolu, but all treatments are private, meaning that you get the small hamam all to yourself. The signature 60- or 75-minute ‘Oriental Mas sage’ package (€50 to €60) includes a facial massage, hamam treatment and expert 30-minute oil massage. The spa’s massage therapist Zeki Ulusoy is trained in sports, remedial and aroma therapy massage and he really knows his stuff – you’ll float out of here at the end of a session. The 50-minute ‘Ottoman’ package (€40) comprises a 20-minute body scrub and a 30-minute foam massage. SULTANAHMET & AROUND SPORTS & ACTIVITIES