Turkish Hammam

The hammam descends from Roman baths through Byzantium into Ottoman life, where it became a weekly ritual and a social institution. Istanbul's grandest were built by the court architect Sinan in the 1500s; several still operate, and a visit is less a spa treatment than a two-hour reset that leaves your skin new.

What happens

1. Changing room (camekân): you undress, wrap a checked cotton peştemal and put on slippers. Swimwear is optional; most people go without under the peştemal.
2. Hot room (hararet): 15–20 minutes lying on the heated marble göbek taşı under the dome to sweat.
3. Scrub (kese): an attendant scrubs you head to toe with a coarse mitt; grey rolls of dead skin are the point.
4. Foam wash (köpük): a cloud of olive-oil soap foam and a massage, then rinsing with bowls of warm water from the marble basins.
5. Optional oil massage, then tea, sherbet or Turkish coffee in the cool room, wrapped in dry towels.

Choosing a bath

• Çemberlitaş Hamamı (1584, Sinan): the classic, on the tram line; separate men's and women's sections, busy, mid-priced.
• Cağaloğlu Hamamı (1741): the most ornate, near Sultanahmet; separate sections.
• Kılıç Ali Paşa Hamamı (1580, Sinan): beautifully restored in Karaköy; women by day, men by evening; book ahead.
• Ayasofya Hürrem Sultan Hamamı (1556, Sinan): the luxury option between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.
• Expect €60–150 for scrub and foam wash; more with massage. Neighbourhood hammams cost a fraction and are entirely authentic.