Marko

Can anyone describe their experience of a Hamman in Turkey, I want my wife to have the experience but she is a a bit doubtfull (and shy I think ). Also would it be suitable for my two 12 year old daughters ?

stephen1957

A visit to the Hammam has been one of the annual highlights of four trips to Turkey in the last five years. You can go to single sex or mixed saunas. A typical visit starts with about 20 to 25 minutes in a Sauna, a large marble lined room, with marble benches around the walls and copper faucets dispensing hot and cold water into marble basins. In the centre of the room is a large marble table or slab, which is heated internally by an oak chip fuelled fire. The Masseurs douse you with freezing water to clean off the sweat. You are then soaped up on the slab and a sizal mitt used to clean off any dead skin. Cold water is again used to clean you off. Usually you can then have a Turkish massage, where all of your aches and pains are released. The male massage is usually more aggressive, the female more relaxed, but both are good fun.
On the first visit we had, there was a young teenager in our group and she did not enjoy the experience as she was embarrassed by the attention and by being handled. It is usually possible for the younger folk to simply have a sauna and not go the whole hog. The masseurs are usually male in the mixed saunas, but there are female ones as well. Do go and enjoy the experience.

jenviolin

I'd recommend they all go to the women's side. The mixed ones are not very Turkish. Obviously, in a women's hamam you will NOT have a male masseur! I took my daughter when whe was 13 and we really enjoyed the experience together; it was awesome at first and then we just relaxed and melted... Be prepared to ask the masseuse to go gently on 12-year-old skin!
If you are going to be in Selcuk (near Ephesus) I know an Australian woman (who speaks Turkish) who regularly takes female tourists to the hamam there. Let me know if you want contact details.

Marko

Jenviolin, we would love the details,
my email is [email protected]
anyone else with a recommendation ? or a comment.

jenviolin

Marko, I sent you a long e-mail with details but it got returned with an error message. I copied
[email protected]
so maybe it's The Worm playing games?
Anyway, I'll reprint it here:

The hamam in Selcuk near Ephesus is not the most elaborate or stunning you will find anywhere, but it was very real and a great experience. We stayed at the Artemis Guest House "Jimmy's Place" which is run by Jimmy (Turkish), his brother, and Jimmy's girlfriend Bron from Australia. Bron took female guests to the women's hamam and she was very pleasant and helpful without being bossy - my daughter and I felt like we were enjoying the relaxation and discovery together, not as part of a tourist group, yet Bron was close by if we needed explanation or assistance. I think she only does this one day a week, but I can't remember if that was because the hamam was only open for women once a week or because Bron had a set day. I'm sure we paid more than the Turkish women but I didn't mind since they certainly went out of their way to make us feel welcome in THEIR hamam, and even with wash, shampooing, massage, and 2-hour steam it cost about $10 per person (? I can't remember!).

The Artemis Guest House was a GREAT place for us to stay. It is rather simple and caters mainly to the young backpacker crowd, although there were several families (like us) and some older couples too. The price was cheap (I think last year around $6 per person in triple rooms, not including breakfast?) but even better, the atmosphere was very casual and child-friendly. There were board and card games, a garden terrace with a waterfall where people sat to read, talk or play, self-service coolers of cold drinks, and a huge library of information about Turkey. Artemis can help you with bike rental and excursion planning, too. We loved the location: right in the middle of town, with a huge street market nearby the next morning; just a few miles from the entrance to Ephesus (we had a car, but you could easily take a cab or rent bikes; try to get there early in the morning before the hundreds of tour buses start unloading); and not far from the beach!!! We walked a few blocks to outdoor terraces for great dinners and watched storks nesting atop huge ancient pillars. As you can tell, we loved Selcuk!

www.artemisguesthouse.com
[email protected]

I think the website has pages about hamam culture & ettiquette as well as a plea for women-only hamams. There are also pages about activities in the area.

Have a great time!
Oh, one of my daughter's favorite souvenirs from Turkey was a scrubbing washcloth, just like the ones in the hamams, that she bought at a market. She says it reminds her of the best pain she ever felt.

Marko

What about for men, any male perspectives out there ?

stephen1957

Hi Marko, as you can see from my first post, I did refer to both single sex and mixed Hamams. This was because it was not clear whether you wished to attend as a family group, or as single sex. I have no experience of single sex Hamams, so I cannot say how typically "Turkish" the experience is, however, I have enjoyed most of the visits over the past few years and would recommend it anyway. The massage which you can have as the final part of the experience does tend to be more aggressive for the male, my wife enjoyed the sight of my legs assuming positions never before attempted, however, the feeling of peace and ultimate relaxation at the end of the afternoon is worth it. The only negative experience I have had was at one of the modern hotel run facilities in Icmeler, which was brief and fairly expensive.
One minor point, my wife has a dodgy knee and I have an arthritic foot. I was amazed at how the Masseurs identified both problems without having to be told and both of us felt better for their attentions.

Marko

Dodgy knees !! Must be an epidemic, wife and I both have similar way too much sport when we were young ! Isn't a hard marble slab a bit uncomfortable ?

stephen1957

Hi Marko
Marble is the building material of choice in both Greece and Turkey, nothing beats it when temperatures rise over 40 degrees, either inside or out. In the Hamam you wear slippers which are necessary to aviod slipping if the floor is wet. The central slab is thick marble and ranges in temperature from warm to hot. It is very comfortable and smooth and very easy to keep clean. Your massage may take place on the slab, or else on a special massage table in an adjoining room. Your massage can vary from a rub down, to a full workout. Personally I prefer the latter, as it is a full body workout. My wife prefers a more relaxing rub down, so much so that last time she fell asleep!

Mat

I spent my honeymoon in Turkey and one of the most unexpected surprises was the Hammam. We found that some of the high-end hotels had thier own minature version right in the hotel, but without the masseuse. These are more like a cross between a sauna and a steam bath, but do have the marble center slab and the cisterns and faucets around the room for splashing and washing.

If you head to Bodrum, stay at the Marmara there and experience one of the very best accomodations and service in the world. They have a nice Hammam there. Also, in Istanbul, my wife and I went to Cicogulu (sorry about the spelling?) which is centuries old. What an experience. We went to seperate sex hammams in the same building. There are beautiful (old) changing areas, or cabanas, where you can get 'dressed' for the hammam (light towels are wrapped around the body) and then can nap or relax afterward. The experience itself is too rich for words, but each time I went I was pleasantly 'roughed up' and bathed so that I felt like all the bones in my body had turned to cartilage. I only regret I did not go twice a day!!! My wife says the female masseuses are more gentle, which is probably a good thing. I am a fairly sturdy guy and I felt the pain pretty good in the massage, but they really know what they are doing - they cracked evey joint in my body practically!. The service is discreet and really takes one back in time. I could not think of going to Turkey again without having as many hammams as possible!

Marko

Sounds great.....I think

Marko

I printed out the contents of this post and showed it to my wife and she is now keen to give it a try. You guys made it sound attractive and the web sites of a couple of the Hammans really intrigued her !

ncanavan

I was in Istanbul for six days and went to this bath twice times. http://www.cemberlitashamami.com.tr/english.htm
Everything about it is remarkable. The baths are single sex (men's bath requires a towel, women's side is nude optional). I recommend that you tip the attendant prior to your massage - they are very appreciative, and this will multiply the pleasure of your experience.
I also went to the oldest bath in Bursa. The service was not quite as good, but the fascility was incredible.

The hammam is not to be missed!

jimar

Hey Matt,

How expensive is the hotel?,,,and the Hammam?
jimar

tenley

I took my 10 year old daughter to the Cemberlitas (sp?) Hamam in Istanbul last year. It's near the Grand Bazaar. It was without a doubt one of the highlights of our spectacular trip. It was very relaxed and comfortable (after we got used to everyone being nude). The scrubbing and rubbing was AWESOME! My daughters loved all the attention and all the bubbles. The rather serious "scubbing ladies" couldn't help but enjoy her giggles.
It's such a wonderful piece of Turkish history, it really can't be missed.!!

ncanavan

Cemberlitas: When I was there last September the was $15 for the full (bath and massage) treatment - nothing by New York standards, but considered quite expensive by the Turks.

Marko

I have arranged to attend Cagaloglu Hamman in Istanbul, anyone been there ?

Marko

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progol

Marko,
On our trip in the summer of 2001, my husband and I went to the Cagaloglu Hammam (separate for men and women). His experience was very pleasant-- nice, traditional massage and not very rough. I, on the other hand, had quite an experience!

I was greeted by one woman, who led me to a changing room; then we entered the hammam, where 2 other women (tourists) were sitting at spigots and just pouring water over themselves. The round room is quite lovely, all marble with a raised slab in the center and faucets on the outside rim of the room. The 3 of us all sat there, naked, for what seemed like ages, just pouring and pouring water on ourselves. We sat there and looked at each other, and shrugged our shoulders; it was a bit bizarre. Eventually, a woman came in to sell us tea....and more time went by before a masseuse came in and took one of the women over to the slab to wash her. Now she was getting a mild pummeling. I sat there, waiting for my turn, and it seemed to take forever. Finally, a HUGE woman, naked from the waist up -- reminded me of my Russian peasant stock-- entered, and directed me to the raised marble circlular platform in the center of the room, and indicated that I should lie down on my back. She proceeded to wash me and fold me and treat me much like I was a slab of meat-- it wasn't exactly pummeling, but it was a weird experience. She then turned me over and scrubbed me. Finally, she led me to the outside circle where the spigots are, and I sat on the floor between her knees, facing outwards, while she rinsed me by pouring cold water all over me. And then she took me back outside, where I was directed to get dressed. Naturally, I was expected to tip her over and above the cost of the massage. One thing I remember is that the cost in dollars was higher than the cost in lire; so when you go, check the price BEFORE and check to see if the dollar or euro fee is different than the lire price.

Now, I can't say it was a bad experience, it was just an odd one. I'm not modest and I'm used to having massages, but this was a somewhat depersonalized experience as a piece of meat! I imagine that the hammams in a smaller town away from Istanbul might be more intimate; this seemed to be geared toward the tourist. But it was an interesting experience nonetheless. I didn't have a chance to get to a smaller hammam, but would've liked to, just to compare.

Marko

My twin 11 year old daughters are looking forward to it more than my wife. Mind you she is a bit of a sook !!