What really happens in a bath in Turkish

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Istanbul
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He cows in Hammam’s warm embrace, and the sound is muffled. Gentle light from Oculi, “eyes” above the head of a large dome, etched patterns on the surface of the marble below. A tap wrap that lets water flow and drip softly at the edge of consciousness like a wllullaby.

The world is still in the humid, almost mystical atmosphere of a Turkish bath.

Going to a Hammam differs from being in the bathroom at home or even a private room in a spa for the day, where you and your therapist are alone.

“In the bath or shower, you’re alone, but the Hammam is a public place,” says Ahmet Idrigil, an architect and expert in the culture and history of Turkish baths. “It’s a historically social and unique place where women can become social outside of their homes without the need for permission.”

In the past, women from wealthy families regularly joined the Hammam. Some even had a hammam in their own home. Each woman used personalized items such as Hammam Tash – a bowl with embossed motifs, and sometimes with gems – poured water into her body. They also used satin fabrics embroidered with lace, pesthemal, or silk or linen, bordered with towels. The best, traditionally made of pure cotton, stops the release of the celvege rather than the edges and hems set on the hand.

From prayer to marriage and childbirth, there are many sophisticated rules that are associated with every opportunity: “sex, menstruation, or after giving birth to a baby,” “sex, menstruation, or after giving birth to a baby.” Even today, women in the small town are still going to Hammam, escaping major roles and looking for a bride for their son.

Steam and “Stars”

Edir Ligill explains that each hammam has at least three sections and is carefully designed to improve the experience. It is the first entrance area, traditionally heated over buckwheat, a Turkish wooden burner or fire. This space has a lounge section for rest after bathing. A small door leads to a semi-warm room with toilets, peeling services and a marble basin cruna. The main section and largest sections feature more kurna along the walls and Gebek’s Tash, a raised marble platform in the center. Some hammams have small rooms known as halves, hot rooms, or halves located next to Gebek Tasch or at each corner.

“The structure is very important as it is a journey to Hammam and Buck,” says Idilligil. “The second two rooms always have a dome, and the height of the room is always greater than or equal to the width. The openings of the dome add to the atmosphere and enhance the sense of space. They look like stars in the sky, like seeing the universe.”

This is especially true for Cağaloğlu Hamam. Built in 1741, it has bright white marble interiors, increasing revenue to fund the library of Sultan Mahmut. The overall effect is one of those that float in the cloud. “When you mutter the heat, humidity, and sounds like a heartbeat, you feel like you’re in your womb,” says Idilligil.

Elif Kartal, guest relations and operations manager for Zeirek Chinili Hammam, has been working in baths in Turkish for almost 20 years. She says that while most hammams offer similar services such as body scrubs using special gloves, Turkish foam massage, Turkish Kepukumasurge, “the functions of these baths vary in function between each other, depending on their preferences and sometimes structural conditions.”

Of the 237 Hammams in Istanbul, only 60 are in operation. Generally, most small hammams have only one set of facilities that mean that men and women bathe separately at different times, sometimes on different days. Larger, historic Hammams, like Zeylek Sinilli Hammam and the gorgeous Hagia Sophia Hurem Sultan Hammam, have separate bathing areas for men and women. The latter, designed in 1556 by Mimarcinan, the chief architect of the Ottoman Court, for Roxerana, wife of the Magnificent Magnificent The Magnificent, in 1556, was the first hammam with a section of women that accurately reflected the male side.

Many Istanbul Hammams are open until 11pm, but you will need to plan and book in advance.

Elif Tamtartar, Zeirek Chinili Hammam with 25 years of experience and a female swimsuit attendant natır, says customers should avoid a few things before the session. “Don’t wax just before a bath. Avoid using body lotions or oil-based products the day before. This will reduce the effectiveness and efficiency of the case, which will cause the gloves to slip through the skin,” she says. She also suggests eating lightly before your visit and avoiding alcohol, as you may feel uncomfortable with the heat.

Every Hammam has a changing area where you can place clothes and lock your valuables in. Some ask to disclose basic health details. They usually provide disposable underwear, but you can wear yourself or swimsuits. We do not recommend wearing a dress as Kese will reach all parts of your body.

I feel brand new

Being washed by someone else is the ultimate luxury. It returns to childhood bathtime memories of warm, sleepy and caring for you.

Once you change and wrap it in a pestemal, your nut will wait – or your terrac for men. In Zeylek Chinili Hammam they take your hands and carefully guide you through the central room towards the center of the bathtub. There, you are invited to rinse gently in warm water and lie on a towel above the Gebek Tasch. The heat from the marble and the heat combined with the steamy air is very relaxing and when the assigned 15 minutes of sweating is finished, they may have to wake you up.

Using a small bowl, your attendant will cascade water over your hair, face and body and wash away sweat. Despite the name, there are no actual baths in the Turkish Hammam. “Before Islam,” Idriligil explains: “Turkeys had shamanic beliefs and believed that water was sacred. Washing with water means polluting the water. In Turkish Islam, water touches your body, and therefore your body will no longer be clean.”

After rinsing, the case will come. The terms Natır and Tellak are used to describe bathing attendees, but “in our own,” says Tamtartar, “we call them people who do this job, regardless of gender.” Tam Tartaru learned Keshirik, the art of body scrubs from his family. “My mother and grandmother were always working in this profession,” she says. “I didn’t study in school or in courses, but I did learnt from them. In fact, I learned Keshirik before I turned 15.”

The case appears to resemble a coarse sandpaper in the shape of a fabric. In the past, the physical stone, Topuktaşı, was used instead. The high-ranking woman was wrapped in a handmade silver cup and embossed with a personalized design.

The feeling of scrubbing your skin with case gloves is clearly odd. Almost no inch of skin touched. A good case covers the torso, arms and legs, face, inner thighs, and all the way to the sacral dimples. If there is too much pressure or there are sensitive areas, let Keseci know. “Most of us generally don’t know foreign languages,” Tam Tartaru said, “We’ve been doing this for years and we can easily communicate with foreign guests through body language.”

As your scrub, a layer of thin black grit – hidden city stains – rolls out of your skin. Second, lifespan, or rufa, is used to remove dead cells. It varies from hammam to hammam, but lifetimes can be made from cotton, linen, and goat hair.

Once it’s creakingly clean, it’s time for Turkish Kepyuk Massage. Keseci washes soft wet muslin with soap to create a foam and swells before gently passing through your body in preparation for a massage. Most Turkish soaps are made with olive oil to clean the natural oils of your skin without peeling them off. This, combined with the effects of Kes, is cashmere-like softness, making your skin feel new. Tam Tartaru says that Kes prevents aging. “Scrubs also act as detachment, which opens pores in the bathhouse, accelerates cell renewal,” she says.

Once the final hair washing stage is over, leave the way you came, first stop in the central section and let it dry and swive with a towel, re-enter the cool room and re-enter the space you first entered. We don’t recommend leaving the hammam all of a sudden, so lie down, enjoy tea, and when ready, go back to the changing area to get dressed.

Taking time to soothe the balm of the hot and humid ocean is a timeless joy that never ages. But going to Hammam wasn’t just about getting clean.

“The guests who come to the bath forget about the troubles and sadness,” says Tamtartaru. “We approach them with the love of our mothers. To us, they are our children. Water energy, baths, people unite. And when your energy is energy with the guests you wash, time flows like water, even when we provide a very long service – the main source of healing.”