Hi,
Could anyone recommend the best turkish bath to visit in Istanbul. My husband and I are travelling by ourselves, and don't mind if the bath is co-ed or not; we just don't want to be stripped of all our bodily hair and beaten with reeds I'm not sure they still do that, but just want to make sure.

here's some info.
- although i am a resident neither i nor my family have ever been to a traditional Turkish bath (hamam)
- There are two very touristic hamams very near Sultanahmet where many of the historic sights are and most tourists stay,
Cagaloglu and Cemberlitas hamams. I have read on Trip Advisor that these hamams charge between 60 and 85Tl for the works including a torturous scrubbing.
- You do not get beaten with reeds in a hamam. That is possibly a Scandinavian torture.
- Traditional Turkish baths will not be coed. Some use the same premises but at different times. Others may be large enough to serve both sexes in different areas.
- Stripping of body hair may be done for both sexes in some hamams and is the same as your basic waxing. It is not usual for tourists to request this service.
- Recently someone on Trip Advisor mentioned the Kadirga Hamam, near the Grand Bazaar as being quite a bit cheaper and very pleasant.
- I know that the Galatasaray Hamam, just off Istiklal street on the side street next to the large Galatasaray High School, on the Taksim side, is sometimes used by even pop stars.
- The scrubbing is called, "kese" pronounced 'quesai'
- You could of'course just go in and wash yourself, imitating the other patrons.
- Both men and women usually wear a thin towel called 'paeshtaemull' tied at the waist while in the hamam.
- Large marble sinks are filled with water and poured over yourself while you sit next to them, by large bath bowls.
- There is a platform where you soak the heat andthe steam.
- There is usually a cooler intermediate area before you come out for you to get your bearings.

I was born in an old wooden Ottoman mansion and we had a Turkish bath warmed by a wood furnace. We left when i was eleven so i remember it quite well. I also visited many antique Ottoman baths.

Thank you, otherchelebi. Your information was very helpful. We plan on staying at the Pan Hotel in Sultanahmet so I will check out the baths you've mentioned.

You had a very fortunate childhood to have had such baths; I sometimes took baths in my grandmother's big aluminium tub in a frosty room in the middle of winter. Not quite the same experience as yours, I'm sure, and I'd rather not remember them. Come to think of it, this may be why I'm enjoy baths and spas so much now.

Thanks again.

Hi,
my girlfriend and I just spent a week in Istanbul and a week driving east (also with help from otherchelebi). We'd hired a local guide and he suggested a hamam and I don't have the name with me here but it was small, local and no English spoken on the men's side. There was a bit of English on the women's side so navigating was easier for Lisa. But it was great. For the entire week I kept feeling the skin on my shoulders and back and remarking on how smooth I was! I've had deeper swedish massages at home but I've never been so clean and exfoliated!

My scrubber/massager lead me through the process without many words and it was great. A tip about money from me: It wasn't expensive but I was glad I was prepared with smaller bills. You pay at teh end. I think the hamam charge was 20TL. Then my massager was there (it was clear he was making sure to be present when I was dressed adn ready to go). I gave him 20TL and then the 2 guys who escorted me to my changing room and handed me towels were literally standing there with hands out. I had a 5 and a 20 so they got the 5. Enjoy!

Thanks willois123, I had been wondering about the tipping.