How to enjoy hamam or Turkish bath and how much do locals pay for it?
Image by markandlaura
Pension garden at Owlsland with typical raised seating area in foreground
Question by Shanz: How to enjoy hamam or Turkish bath and how much do locals pay for it?
Hamam is the public bath in Turkey. I’m sceptical but would like to try it.
Add your own answer in the comments!
10 Responses to How to enjoy hamam or Turkish bath and how much do locals pay for it?
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Locals take shower at home. :DDD
Frankly, I haven’t been to a hamam. They are only tourist attractions today.
Mamma li Turchi!
November 14, 2012 at 5:19 am
ROFLMAO
Wouldnt it be more comfortable to have a shower by urself than out in public?lol
Are you…….. no never mind haha
edit:istanbul bogazi ahhhh ok,i wanna go to the hamam too lol
Pinky
November 14, 2012 at 5:42 am
Defining hamam only as “public bath” is like an insult to a whole culture of hamam. I think you should have more info about hamam before going there. Before there was no SPAs in the world and there were hamams. SPAs are like modernized (but not more effective) version of hamams.
You have special clothes like pestemal to use there.
There is steam room, massage room, you are cleaned by a tellak who cleans all your dead cells, pool to revitalize, they invite you to drink tea.
When i am in Turkey i go at least twice to hamams because nothing is better than that to relax.
Of course Turks don’t go to hamam everyday, we take bath at home, they go only two-three times a year maybe if they like it. This is a treatment that you should experience.
istanbul bogazi
November 14, 2012 at 6:41 am
well had to say this cause before Turkish hamam was Roma baths and they are still there in Rome and as you know Greeks were proceeding the Romans and they had them too in Knossos and other places too but the Turks they and another notch to it and their popularity still exists!
carmelo_sabato
November 14, 2012 at 7:34 am
hamams are nice, you should go.
To enjoy a hamam you should take some clean flip flops with you cause I don’t like for my feet to touch the floor and you might not either. they have slippers you can borrow buy why not just take your own. They have to be clean cause you don’t want to leave dirty footprints all over the hamam.
You should also take a small bottle of shampoo, conditioner, razor and soap; and hair dryer etc for after the hamam.
When you arrive you should ask the price, you have to agree before partaking, otherwise they can ask you for any price after. The maximum price you can pay is posted and you can ask to see this. I used to go to Galatasaray hamam behind the high school, the posted price was 35 million (it was an old sign) and I paid 30, I tipped my attendant 5. If you have any doubt that you are getting ripped off ask to see the sign and ask for a receipt.
When you arrive, you’ll be shown to a little room where you will take off your clothes and put on a wrap that they will give you, if you want you can leave your underpants on; they will also give you a little plastic dish to splash yourself with once you enter the hamam.
Now you are ready to go inside, it is hot and steamy inside, around the outside of the room you will find little faucets, turn on a faucet and wait for hot water, mix the water in your little dish and splash it over your whole body, once you are wet you are ready to sweat, lie on the raised hot marble area or go in the steam bath if there is one and wait. DO NOT USE ANY SOAP! when you are fully pruned (30mins or more) call your attendant over to bathe you. He (she for women) will use a KESE to roll all the dead skin off you. It sounds bad but this is great. It will come off in rolls. A kese is a raw silk cloth. If you use any soap on your skin before the kese you won’t get the dead skin off. After the kese is finished your attendant will shampoo and massage you. The attendant will use a special towel that makes lots of suds (soap is OK after the kese). The massage is quite strong and is meant to improve circulation. The attendant will then rinse you off. Now you are pretty much finished, it is up to you to shave and do any other thing you want to do.
You can hang out in the hamam for as long as you’d like or you can leave right after the attendant finishes with you.
When you leave the hot area and go back to were your clothes are you will be given hot towels and offered tea. it is time for tipping and getting dry and dressed.
ithinkiatetoomuch
November 14, 2012 at 8:30 am
Nothing is more relaxing than going to a hamam, public bath or hot spring! I love the old hamams where you can bathe in history or hanging out at a public bath the whole day with a good book! It is a way to relax that has been forgotten in the West and you would be amazed how refreshed and clean you will feel afterwards! Don’t miss it!
Selena
November 14, 2012 at 9:05 am
Do not be reluctant. It is a treat. The steam is wet as opposed to the sauna- Finnish- which is dry. Although most of the remaining ones are public, there are private ones too, but you need to get in with the elite to be invited.
emiliosailez
November 14, 2012 at 9:59 am
if you visit or you are in İstanbul,this link help you :
http://www.oldistanbul.com/tours-1/bath-tour.htm
welcome to Türkiye!
çetin
November 14, 2012 at 10:22 am
You should definitely go!
It’s fun and soooo relaxing and it’s good to go early on in your holiday (first couple of days) to get rid of the old skin celss then you will get a nice deep tan which will last for longer 🙂
Lyns
November 14, 2012 at 11:00 am
To be honest for most men from certain cultures (Americans, Europeans, etc.) the Turkish culture is very different. There is a different level of acceptable “touchy feely-ness” acceptable between members of the same sex.
In history, the purpose of going to a Turkish hamam was to be cleaned as well as relaxing. However, you do not clean yourself. This means another man, who is nearly naked himself, will fully wash you. It will be a very intimate washing to say the least. However, in Turkish culture it is not at all regarded as a “homosexual” experience. It wouldn’t even cross a Turks mind. Of course, in many other cultures it would be the first thing to cross one’s mind.
If you are comfortable with the atmosphere, it can be a very relaxing and enjoyable experience. It is definitely a top tourist destination and something some consider a “must do” if you are in Turkey. Just because it is such an important part of their history and culture.
Nonetheless, if it is something that will make you very uncomfortable you probably won’t enjoy yourself. You just need to decide whether it is in your comfort zone based on your own cultural norms.
Matt S
November 14, 2012 at 11:55 am