Discovery #39: Turkish baths are glorious!
Today a group of six girls and five guys headed to the Asian side of Istanbul to take a Turkish bath at Aziziye Hamam.
For those of you who don't know, Turkish baths are communal bathing areas that date back to the 14th century when only the wealthy could afford to have running water in their homes.
The hamam we went to today had separate bathing areas for men and women and felt somewhat equivalent to going to an afternoon at the spa (though I've never had one of those, so that's a complete guess!). The main room of the bath had marble floors and a high, domed ceiling. Half of the walls were marble and the other half a beautiful blue tile. According to the hamam's website, the building is over 150 years old and is attended by both tourists and locals alike. (The picture to the right was not taken by me and is not of the Aziziye Hamam but rather of a typical-looking Turkish bath.)
The attendants at the bath spoke no English and I speak no Turkish, so communicating was an adventure. (When in doubt, hand motions and facial expressions work very well...) They assumed that we wanted the full treatment, so, after giving us lockers to keep our purses in and cotton wraps to wear, they took us into the main room of the bath.
The room had several marble basins surrounded by marble benches for us to sit on. The bath attendants assigned two people to each basin and began filling it with hot water. The room was warm and somewhat like a sauna, except that the heat was very moist. After pouring warm water over ourselves and relaxing in the warmth for a while, the attendants called us over one-by-one to the large marble slab in the middle of the room. Here, they scrubbed us down with some sort of exfoliator and then had us rinse off. After this, they soaped us up with a washcloth and integrated a very light, relaxing massage. About five minutes later, another attendant came over and washed everyone's hair.
The process was so incredibly relaxing and cleansing. I've never felt so clean in my life and I swear my skin is softer now. Lesson of the day: when in Turkey, do as the Turks do and take a Turkish bath!
Today a group of six girls and five guys headed to the Asian side of Istanbul to take a Turkish bath at Aziziye Hamam.
For those of you who don't know, Turkish baths are communal bathing areas that date back to the 14th century when only the wealthy could afford to have running water in their homes.
 |
| A typical Turkish hamam |
The attendants at the bath spoke no English and I speak no Turkish, so communicating was an adventure. (When in doubt, hand motions and facial expressions work very well...) They assumed that we wanted the full treatment, so, after giving us lockers to keep our purses in and cotton wraps to wear, they took us into the main room of the bath.
The room had several marble basins surrounded by marble benches for us to sit on. The bath attendants assigned two people to each basin and began filling it with hot water. The room was warm and somewhat like a sauna, except that the heat was very moist. After pouring warm water over ourselves and relaxing in the warmth for a while, the attendants called us over one-by-one to the large marble slab in the middle of the room. Here, they scrubbed us down with some sort of exfoliator and then had us rinse off. After this, they soaped us up with a washcloth and integrated a very light, relaxing massage. About five minutes later, another attendant came over and washed everyone's hair.
The process was so incredibly relaxing and cleansing. I've never felt so clean in my life and I swear my skin is softer now. Lesson of the day: when in Turkey, do as the Turks do and take a Turkish bath!
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