Turkish bath
Istanbul, Turkey
A Turkish hamam or bath is just that: a bath. As in, you are bathed - soaped, scrubbed, and rinsed - by another person.
There are dozens of Turkish baths around. Most hotels have one and many are called “Turkish bath and spa,” which made me wonder how authentic of an experience it is or if it’s just a massage and a sauna, something I could do at home. One place I saw, Kadirga Hamam, was very nearby to our hotel and by far the most affordable. At 450 Turkish lira (about $14USD), I thought it would be a substandard or perhaps even mildly violating, you-get-what-you-pay-for type of experience as many of the Google reviewers eluded to. I decided I was equating “authentic” with “cheap and crappy” and that wasn’t fair to the Turks. Or maybe it just scared me off.
I continued searching for an authentic (whatever that means), affordable, yet relaxing experience, and found one within walking distance of our hotel, Kösem Sultan Hamam, and booked an appointment via WhatsApp.
I wasn’t sure what to do when I got there, what I’d be wearing (or not wearing), how long it would take, or what steps were involved. It’s hard to relax when you don’t know what to expect (a trauma-informed practice I learned as a social worker), but the woman who massaged and bathed me, Cindy, guided me through.
First, I was ushered to a small room with gym lockers and given a thin, thigh-length, seersucker bathrobe and a pair of disposable spa underwear with unfinished seams, no inside or right side out.
I booked the “Gold” experience, not the cheapest but also not the VIP package. I locked up my things and exited the locker room. Cindy greeted me and said there was a client in the sauna, so we’d go out of order a bit and do the massage first. A sauna and steam room relax you, priming your muscles for a deep massage, I thought. But okay, massage first.
It felt divine.
Next, Cindy guided me (it was so relaxing, I was a little wobbly) to a comfy chair in the nearby sitting area. She brought me a carafe of hot tea and a cup of water, the disposable kind where you peel the lid off the top. She said, finish your tea and then we go downstairs. Just in case she really meant I had to finish the whole thing, I drank it all.
Downstairs it was sauna, then steam room, then bath, then jacuzzi. Sauna first. Cindy gave me exact sauna instructions: step up onto the top level, lie down, then I’ll come back to get you. Good. Got it. It’s like a slow cooker. I love feeling my skin slowly heat up, the first drop of sweat pooling just enough to drip down, then another, then another. It feels reassuring, my doing its job to cool me down. Toxins out, relaxation in. Next stop, the steam room.
After steaming, I’m fully heated and moisturized, it was bath time. I’ve seen photos of Turkish hamams where there’s a big marble slab in the middle of a big marble room; now I know how it’s used. With robe off and disposable spa undies on, I laid face-down on the slab - it’s heated!! - while Cindy used her bath glove to scrub me up. There was so much foam, the weight of it felt like luxury. I turned over and Cindy scrubbed me up, then I sat up on the marble slab with my legs out straight while she washed my hair, rinsing as she went using a bowl and the running water in the marble sink behind us. After that, 5 minutes in the jacuzzi and I was done.
photo from Google review
The surprising part of for me was how nurtured I felt. I mean, this woman bathed me like a child, not unlike I used to do with my boys when they were little.
Attractions in Turkey were really expensive, so I went back and forth all during our Turkey visit, uncertain if spending €80 on a bath was worth it. I’m so glad I checked “Turkish bath” off my list. It was totally worth it.
