When I travelled to Istanbul, I wanted to try a traditional Turkish Bath. I wasn’t sure what to expect – and overall it was interesting…but good! So here’s my guide to what is a Turkish Bath, and my experience in Istanbul.
Turkish Baths are famous across the world. When I was planning my trip to Turkey, I read a lot about Turkish Baths. So I knew it was something famous that I wanted to try. I’m always up for trying new experiences, so I wanted to try a Turkish Bath. But I didn’t really know what to expect…I didn’t have a clear idea of what is a Turkish Bath…
To be honest, I’m not really a big fan of spa days. I had a massage in Thailand that I found quite awkward and uncomfortable. I know a lot of people love spas and massages. But I’ve struggled to see the appeal of having a stranger rub their hands all over you while you’re not wearing much. But, despite my aversion to partial nudity and being touched by strangers, I still thought it would be a good idea to give a Turkish Bath a go.
Where is the best Turkish Bath in Istanbul?
There’s no better place to try at Turkish Bath than in one of Istanbul’s historic bath houses. Of course, there are many options for Turkish Baths all across Istanbul, and all across Turkey. Tourist hotpots like Cappadocia have a lot of options. But I knew I was only going to have time for one Turkish Bath during my trip to Turkey. So I wanted to go to one of Istanbul’s historic bath houses for the ultimate luxury experience, as I’d only be doing it once.
I chose one of the most famous historic Turkish Baths in Istanbul: Cağaloğlu Hamamı.
Cağaloğlu Hamamı is located in Istanbul’s historic Sultanahmet district. It’s close to some of Istanbul’s top sights, such as the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque. So if you’re in the historical, tourist-y part of Istanbul, you won’t be far from here.
Cağaloğlu Hamamı dates back to 1741 during the reign of Sultan Mahmud I, and was built in the impressive Ottoman style. The entrance itself is impressive. As soon as you walk towards the entrance, it feels like you’re entering somewhere important.
Cağaloğlu Hamamı is definitely one of the most famous Turkish Baths, in part due to the number of famous people who have visited here. At the entrance, there’s a wall with photos of all the famous people who have visited the Turkish Bath. I felt slightly reassured by this. If all these famous people had visited this Turkish Bath, then it couldn’t be too bad.
This place is also featured in a book called ‘1000 places to see before you die’. So again, it being so famous was reassuring.
Booking Cağaloğlu Hamamı Turkish Bath in advance
It’s definitely best to book your session at Cağaloğlu Hamamı in advance. You only need to book about a day or so in advance.
There are various packages to choose from. I chose the 45 minute experience. It was the cheapest option, but seemed to include the main elements that I was sort-of expecting.
You can book your experience at Cağaloğlu Hamamı through Get Your Guide (affiliate) or the same experience through Viator here (affiliate).
You don’t need to take anything with you to Cağaloğlu Hamamı. However, it might be a good idea to take a swimming costume/bikini. More on that later!
Arriving at Cağaloğlu Hamamı
When you arrive at Cağaloğlu Hamamı, you’re greeted by smartly dressed men at a reception desk. They ask you to sit and wait. And then a short time later, someone comes to take you through.
The bath has separate areas for men and women. The areas are strictly segregated, with no staff of the opposite gender working in that area. Obviously, I only saw the women’s area, but I imagine the men’s area would be similar.
Entering the Turkish Bath experience
When you go in, you’re led to a private room with a lock. You can leave your bag and get changed here, which is nice.
They provide a towel here to wrap yourself in. And they provide disposable underwear. The underwear they provide is not…substantial.
I took a swimming costume, and I changed into that instead. I definitely did not fancy walking around in the provided disposable underwear, even with a towel.
Out of the 12-ish women in the area at that time, I’d say about a quarter were wearing swimsuits and the rest wearing the disposable underwear – so it was ok to do both.
It worked ok wearing a swimming costume or bikini to start with. But later on, things needed adjusting…I’ll get to that part later!
Step 1: The Sauna
The experience starts with 15-20 minutes sat in the sauna. It’s quite hot, so 15 minutes felt like a lot. It’s not an entirely enclosed room, so it’s not quite as hot as saunas in spas I’ve been to in the UK. But it was still hot. And fairly crowded, with around 12 women sat there. Everyone had their towel tightly wrapped around them, so it wasn’t awkward at all. But it was still quite a long time to sit in an overly hot space with a load of other women.
I was very relieved when the ladies who work there started coming in and taking each woman individually out.
Step 2: The scrubbing
They led each women to an area of the large room that had a table, and asked you to lay on that table. Some of the tables were arranged around a central fountain, and others were off to the side a little bit.
It was all open, so technically you could see everyone else. But everyone was so focussed on their own experience, so it felt fairly private. But I was extremely pleased that the whole area was strictly women only, as there weren’t many clothes around. When you lay on the table, you had to lose the towel. So for anyone wearing just the disposable underwear, they were quite exposed.
It was at this point that the people wearing a swimming costume had to make a decision. It would have been ok to have kept it on fully, and the staff member would have just worked around it. So if that’s your preference, then that would have been ok.
However, it would be difficult to get the full Turkish Bath experience if you kept a swimming costume fully on. So everyone did pull it down, so it was just like bikini bottoms. I figured that the people working there probably work on over 10 women a day, so I wasn’t going to be particularly memorable. So I went for it. I was still glad I had it, as it felt more secure than the disposable underwear.
After a quick wash, the experience then includes the scrubbing. This scrubbing is the most famous part of a Turkish bath. The attendant (the ‘Natir’) scrubs your skin using a special rough glove. I’d heard mixed things about how painful the scrubbing was, but I didn’t find it as bad as I was expecting. I wouldn’t call it relaxing, but it definitely wasn’t too painful.
The scrubbing didn’t last too long. And even though the attendant didn’t speak much English, she still asked it was ok to do the face. So if there were areas you didn’t want touched, that would be ok. They speak enough English to ask you to turn over every so often so you get the full experience.
Step 3: the foam massage
Next, was the foam massage. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this either. I’ve had a massage before, so I figured it would just be like a massage but with foam. And it was…but it was a lot more foam-y than I was expecting…
I couldn’t quite work out how they created so much foam. It was almost like they were using a pillow case, that they dunked in a bucket and it just magically created foam. And there was a lot of foam. So it was hard to see what was going on, because there was so much foam.
The massage was quite nice and relaxing, and the foam meant it was a fairly gentle massage. But there was so much foam. Foam everywhere. There were times it was difficult to relax in the massage because there was a lot of foam going up my nose as I breathed. It’s hard to relax when you’re slightly drowning in foam.
And then they wash you off. Again, this was on the edge of relaxing. They just throw big bowls of water over you. Luckily the water is nice and warm. But there’s a lot of water. And it comes quite quickly. I found I needed to keep my eyes closed because the water and foam was everywhere. But then I couldn’t see when the next bucket load of water was coming, so I didn’t know when it was safe to breathe. That did slightly ruin the relaxing nature of the experience, as I felt like I was slightly drowning in foam and water and couldn’t quite breathe. My hairband was washed right out of my hair, just to give an indication of what it was like. And I’m so glad I was wearing the sturdy swimming costume, I’m sure the flimsy disposable underwear would have been washed right off.
Step 4: Tea to finish
But then it was over. You get wrapped in a towel, and led out to the entrance hall (still in the woman’s only area). Here, you can sit at a table and you’re served tea and Turkish Delight. It’s a nice way to end the experience. Especially as there’s also a slight feeling of relief that it’s over, and you’re not safely wrapped in a towel.
And then, once you’ve finished, you can go back to your private room to get changed. The private rooms have hairdryers, and also a comb for your hair and free toiletries. So you really don’t need to bring anything – everything is provided.
My thoughts on my Turkish Bath experience
I’m really glad I tried the Turkish Bath. It was definitely a memorable experience. I didn’t have a clue what to expect when I went in. And I was nervous at times, especially because I wasn’t sure what to expect and I wasn’t sure what I should be doing. But the staff were friendly, even if they didn’t speak much English, and there was enough explanation to be able to muddle through.
The scrubbing and the massage and the washing were pleasant, even if that times they were on the edge of relaxing. Maybe a bit less foam and slightly fewer buckets of water would have been nice, to minimise the feeling of drowning. But overall, there were pleasant moments. And you definitely come out feeling cleaner, with your skin nice and soft.
I would recommend going to the Cağaloğlu Hamamı Turkish Bath. It’s a fun experience, and definitely gives you lots of amusing stories. And it’s definitely worth visiting a famous historic bath house in Istanbul so you have the ultimate Turkish Bath experience.
Remember you can book your Turkish Bath experience through Get Your Guide (affiliate) and through Viator (affiliate).
Hope you enjoyed my guide to what is a Turkish Bath, and my experience in Istanbul! Make sure you also check out my guide to visiting the rest of Istanbul, and also my ultimate itinerary for one week in Turkey. After your Turkish Bath, you’ll probably also want some food – so check out my guide to what to eat in Turkey. Or you can read my guide to another bucket list experience in Turkey – the Cappadocia hot air balloon ride.
