Turkish Bath

Cleanliness has always been a priority in both Turkish and Islamic Society. There have been hamam or public bath houses in Turkey since medieval times. The tradition reached its height during Ottoman times, when it became the social focus for women, for many of whom it provided a rare opportunity to leave their own home and see their friends. Bathing would become a social occasion, accompanied by a picnic, and, it is said, that it provided the ideal opportunity for mothers to shortlist potential brides for their sons. Even today there are separate Turkish baths for men and women, or where a town has only one hamam, different times of day or days of the week are allocated to men and women. The only exception to this is the baths open to tourists in beach resorts, where it is not uncommon to have mixed bathing and even to be massaged by someone of the opposite sex, which would never happen in traditional Turkish baths. When you enter the hamam you leave your clothes in a locker and wrap yourself in a towel or cloth called a pestemal which is provided along with wooden slippers. Once in the main bathhouse, you fill your bowl with water from the taps set along the walls and wash yourself by tipping the water from the bowl over yourself. When it is your turn to lie down on the central marble slab or gobek tasi where you are scrubbed with a rough cloth (called kese) and then lathered with soap and massaged. There is usually an extra charge for these treatments. Experience the Turkish baths when visiting your property in Turkey.