Later that evening, we booked for a Turkish Bath. Bath in Turkish means Hamam. Now I understood how Hindustan Unilever stole this name for their famous soap brand!!
Present almost in every corner of the street, HAMAMS are a privilege not only for the rich. This tradition was adopted from Romans and Byzantines, later perfected by the Turks. Although baths were famous throughout Europe right from Roman and Greek civilization, Turkey has its own history to claim. During the Ottoman rule, this was the only socializing way for women to talk, gossip and mingle, who rest of the times were restricted to the home.
A good hamam experience requires a traditional ambience (think of a large room with sky high ceilings, intricately carved walls and marble clad floors) and heavy-handed scrubbing. There are separate baths and timings for men and women. And as I entered the private room, I kept all my belongings into a private cubicle, and headed into a large room.
Everyone has separate attendants, and I bet you, none of these attendants know English, and communicating was hell difficult. All they say is “Dush” (means shower or bath). And all the attendants (I saw) were above mid 40’s, plump, pear-shaped, with hung bellies. But they were very kind.
This public bath had a lot of taps run into a swan shaped or round shaped marble pot, and a plastic mug to ease your bath. Once you pour in some hot water, you are asked to head towards a large wooden door. That's the coal furnace room. The temperature inside was between 40°C and 60°C. There were wooden platforms where you can sit and relax. I was catching up on some gossip, had a short chat with a Russian girl, but could not sit for more than 10 minutes.
Once the skin was sufficiently dried-up, I was taken to the marble clad. The attendant used some cotton cloth or sponge for lathering, and they did not use any rose or lavender flavored soap water. Just ordinary soap water/liquid!!! Followed by scrubbing and massaging. And the attendants scrub so hard that your first layer of skin comes out, but you feel more relaxed later. Finally led into a small swimming pool with cold water to get the body adjusted to the normal temperature. After this entire process, I had a hot apple tea.
Present almost in every corner of the street, HAMAMS are a privilege not only for the rich. This tradition was adopted from Romans and Byzantines, later perfected by the Turks. Although baths were famous throughout Europe right from Roman and Greek civilization, Turkey has its own history to claim. During the Ottoman rule, this was the only socializing way for women to talk, gossip and mingle, who rest of the times were restricted to the home.
A good hamam experience requires a traditional ambience (think of a large room with sky high ceilings, intricately carved walls and marble clad floors) and heavy-handed scrubbing. There are separate baths and timings for men and women. And as I entered the private room, I kept all my belongings into a private cubicle, and headed into a large room.
Everyone has separate attendants, and I bet you, none of these attendants know English, and communicating was hell difficult. All they say is “Dush” (means shower or bath). And all the attendants (I saw) were above mid 40’s, plump, pear-shaped, with hung bellies. But they were very kind.
This public bath had a lot of taps run into a swan shaped or round shaped marble pot, and a plastic mug to ease your bath. Once you pour in some hot water, you are asked to head towards a large wooden door. That's the coal furnace room. The temperature inside was between 40°C and 60°C. There were wooden platforms where you can sit and relax. I was catching up on some gossip, had a short chat with a Russian girl, but could not sit for more than 10 minutes.
Once the skin was sufficiently dried-up, I was taken to the marble clad. The attendant used some cotton cloth or sponge for lathering, and they did not use any rose or lavender flavored soap water. Just ordinary soap water/liquid!!! Followed by scrubbing and massaging. And the attendants scrub so hard that your first layer of skin comes out, but you feel more relaxed later. Finally led into a small swimming pool with cold water to get the body adjusted to the normal temperature. After this entire process, I had a hot apple tea.
This entire scrubbing and massaging process took an hour and a half for 35 euros . There are lots of baths ranging from 10 Euros onwards. Make sure to choose the best one, because Hamams are unique experience, and are very much a part of Istanbul. More than just a nice way of relaxing and rejuvenating, it's the cultural experience that is almost impossible to replicate outside Turkey. A truly unmissable experiences of this trip.
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