Hammam Rejuvenation – Istanbul’s Booming Spa Culture Is Revisiting Old Turkish Bathhouse Rituals
A 300-year-old Cagaloglu hammam on Istanbul's European side.
For centuries, pleasure combined with practicality in the hammams, or bathhouses, of Istanbul, where everyone from the humblest worker to the sultan himself regularly kept clean by indulging in the local tradition of a steam bath and professional body scrub. With the rise of modern bathrooms during the past 50 years, the tradition threatened to die out. Private bathing facilities replaced public hammams, and private hammams in the city's great houses became too expensive to maintain. Many of the city's most treasured hammam buildings, often important works of Ottoman architecture, have been converted into everything from cafes to warehouses.
Today, the hammam tradition is coming back in a new form, as the old rituals of steaming and scrubbing take pride of place in Istanbul's booming spa culture. Five-star hotels and upmarket health clubs automatically include strikingly designed hammam facilities in their spa complexes, and a new generation of Istanbul residents are reinterpreting the tradition to suit contemporary needs.
Classic hammams -- often attached to mosques, and built out of traditional white marble from Turkey's Marmara region -- developed an elaborate regimen, with every phase of gradual warming leading up to an intensive body scrub and a final soap massage. The center of a typical bathhouse was a domed room with a large heated stone slab, usually surrounded by cisterns of flowing water. Visitors would lounge on the hot stone, while keeping cool by pouring water over themselves, in preparation for the scrub. Although strictly divided by gender, Istanbul's hammams were also an alternative public space, where the city's vast array of religions, classes, and ethnicities mingled.
A washroom designed by architect Zeynep Fadillioglu features an antique stone kurna (basin) and a mirror from a traditional Turkish hammam.
The new designer hammams, in which the architect often playfully alludes to Ottoman decorative traditions, still offer the traditional scrub, but are refuges of privacy -- tiny by traditional standards, and usually reserved for one person or a couple. Some of the most popular of the new hammams are those in the four-year-old Hotel Les Ottomans, housed in a refurbished Bosphorus mansion; the Swissôtel The Bosphorus, which recently redesigned its hammam in a nontraditional style; and the Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus, arguably the most luxurious, which opened in 2008.
Today's hammams are seen as "detox treatments," says Viviana Quesada, spa manager at the Four Seasons, who notes that the hammam method of heating and scrubbing now serves as a consummate spa treatment. "It's a whole experience," more complete than a mere sauna and a massage, she says. Ms. Quesada is quick to point out the difference between the rather rough centuries-old massage method, still on offer in Istanbul's surviving public baths, and what the Four Seasons provides in its 2,100 square meter spa. "Outside, the traditional massage is very strong, almost like hitting. Here our concept is more about pampering: long -- not deep -- strokes."
A hammam designed by Sinan Kafader for the Swissôtel The Bosphorus.
Ms. Quesada says that the Four Seasons hammam caters to Istanbul natives, who make up to three-quarters of the spa's customers in the off-season, as well as to the city's visitors. Foreigners, she notices, "are not used to being in a hot treatment for 45 minutes," the usual time for a completed scrub on the elaborate heated stone, while "the locals request even more steam."
A hammam at the Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus.
Another difference, she says, is the new mixing of genders. "Guests can choose male or female scrubbers," she says -- a dramatic contrast to traditional hammams, where the scrubbers and the scrubbed were always the same sex. Also, a man and a woman can now share a session. "We have a lot of couples requesting to be together," she says. "Even the local Turkish people."
The need to cater to both a Turkish and non-Turkish clientele led the spa's designer, Istanbul architect Sinan Kafadar, to combine a range of styles throughout the spa's spacious rooms. "There are Turkish figures and patterns, but they're hidden," he says, explaining that the spa's domed swimming pool contains a Byzantine-style mosaic. However, once you walk into the actual hammam room, he says, "it's completely Turkish."
Mr. Kafadar, who is the co-director of the Turkish-Italian firm Metex Design Group, also recently redesigned Istanbul's Swissotel spa by getting rid of recognizable Turkish elements in its hammam rooms. By dispensing with the space's traditional octagonal design and substituting a sleek modernist sink design, Mr. Kafadar, preserves the hammam's traditional functions but achieves a radically different, distinctly contemporary atmosphere.
A detail inside the hammam at the Four Seasons
Mr. Kafadar and his firm are responsible for many of the city's leading hammams, and are currently working on the spa and hammam for the spring re-opening of the Pera Palace, Istanbul's legendary belle-epoque hotel. However, he isn't an enthusiastic hammam-goer, limiting himself to a few visits a year. "I like it," he says, "but not regularly."
The same cannot be said of architect Zeynep Fadillioglu, another leading Istanbul hammam designer, who grew up in a yali, or Bosphorus mansion, on Istanbul's European shore, where her family maintained a private hammam. Now a regular customer at the spa and hammam at the Hotel Les Ottomans, which she designed, she describes the whole process as a "a body facial."
"In my childhood, hammams were part of daily life," she says, speaking in the office of her Istanbul firm, ZF Design. "It was the way we cleaned ourselves."
"The main idea is that the middle stone has to be hot," she says, noting that the private hammams often were heated with wood and required monitoring by a vigilant staff of servants. "The hot atmosphere makes you mildly relaxed, so you are ready for the scrub."
Ms. Fadillioglu, now 54 years old, says that good scrubbers are as sought after as good hairdressers, and that, in the Istanbul of her youth, an exfoliated look was a sign of prestige. "The ladies all used to have pink skin," she says.
Ms. Fadillioglu also designs new domestic hammams for a select group of private clients, in which she makes modifications that reflect the tremendous cost and bother of maintaining the heated room. The hammams she now designs, she says, are "mostly with a twist," describing one hammam that features heatable marble benches rather than a more traditional, more cumbersome central stone.
Ms. Fadillioglu, who helped revive the eclectic Ottoman style in the 1990s, also uses traditional hammam interiors as an inspiration for bathroom design, as well as design details elsewhere in the home. She uses hammam-style bathroom sinks, in both antique and newly produced versions, in many commissions, and is especially fond of pestemals, the traditional wraps used instead of bathrobes. "The old ones are fantastic," she says, and she regularly looks for antique hammam textiles, which can be made of either silk or cotton, in Istanbul's Grand Bazaar. "I use them for cushions," she says.
A twist on traditional hammam culture is also behind the success of Jayda Uras, a Welsh-Turkish aroma therapist who opened her own apothecary shop, Vie en Rose, in Istanbul's hip Cihangir district two years ago. "We work like a bakery," she says, of her business, which features products like organic Turkish-coffee-and-rose facial scrub and custom-mixed herbal honeys, all made on site. Ms. Uras, a trained architect, currently works closely with hammams in Bursa, a three-hour drive from Istanbul and home to some of Turkey's best hot springs, and an eco-resort in Bodrum in southern Turkey. Both complexes use her products in conjunction with hammam treatments. "Because of the way essential oils work," she says, it's "important to use a heated environment" for the oils to penetrate the skin.
Istanbul's spa-like hammams have spread their influence to more traditional hammam settings, says Mary Senyuz, an American-born Istanbul resident and avid hammam-goer. Ms. Senyuz, an English teacher, regularly goes to a 300-year-old hammam, located on the city's Asian side, which is still connected to a mosque. Marked by an atmosphere that she calls "faded elegance" her local hammam costs her no more than 58 lira (€28), about a quarter of what visitors pay at the Four Seasons.
"It's set up very traditionally," she says, laughing out loud at the suggestion that there might be male scrubbers working on days when the bathhouse is reserved for women. But lately, she has noticed a change. Hammam-going, she says, has become "the healthy thing to do among a lot of the younger generation who have never been to a hammam before." She says that her local hammam began to offer oil massages about a year ago -- something she had never seen before in her decades of hammam-going; she chalks this up to the influence of the upscale hotel hammam-spas.
The cumulative effect of monthly exfoliation treatments has kept her skin remarkably soft, she says: "My skin is used to the hammam. Once you start going regularly, then you kind of need to go. You're trapped."
1600 year old Harbor of Theodosius in Istanbul
The Harbor of Theodosius in Istanbul dates back to the period of 4th century A.D. It was unearthed in Yenikapi in Istanbul. Various works of excavation in Yenikapi, Sirkeci and Uskudar count among the splendor remains of archaeology belonging to the periods ranging from Ottoman, Roman, Byzantine, Ancient Greek and Neolithic times.
Istanbul, which happens to be capital of these two empires for several centuries has been successfully preserving its importance in all the periods of history till now. Travelers from the world over have been inspired by the majestic beauty of the districts of Pera and Galata, the Golden Horn, the Virgin’s Tower and its grand mosques atop the seven hills. However, as of now, the city is facing the problem of transportation which originated way back in the 19th century and persists even today. The problem was meant to be solved by the construction of rail link projects namely Marmaray and the Metro. These two projects by the Department of Transportation will help in making a rail link between Asian and the European continents through a tunnel beneath the Bosphorus.
In the year 2004, the Istanbul Archaeological Museums undertook the work of archaeological excavations around the terminals before proceeding with the digging work for the Marmaray and the Metro construction. These excavations which are being carried out by the efforts of dig teams have unearthed several cultural treasures of historical importance for Istanbul.
The Harbor of Theodosius, which is regarded to be the most prominent harbor of the Byzantine era, is the result of these archaeological excavations. This harbor was unearthed in Yenikapi (‘Vlanga’ in the Ottoman times). The district of Yenikapi was known to be the fruit and vegetable garden of Istanbul. it has also become known by reading the notes of the travelers visiting Istanbul during the mid-16th century that the Harbor of Theodosius, built during the 4th century and used till 7th century was used as a truck garden after it silted up and became a part of the mainland.
Excavations undertaken at Yenikapi
Although the location of this harbor of Istanbul, namely, the Theodosius’ harbor was known from the maps in the ancient times, however, there was no knowledge about its exact size, position and the layout of this harbor which played an important role in the economy of the Byzantine period.
Founded on the crossroads between the Balkans and Anatolia and the pathway extending from the Aegean right up to the Black Sea, Byzantion’s location was a great contributor to the development of the city, so mush so that it dominated various commercial routes.
To meet the growing needs of the expanding capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, Theodosius I commissioned the construction of the Theodosius Harbor between 379-395 A.D. so, a breakwater extending from east to west along the south way of a natural bay was built for creating this harbor. And a large tower that stood at the far end for keeping a guard on the entrance of the harbor was among several other structures and silos for keeping the grain brought by big ships from Alexandria and neighboring ports that stood around the harbor. Sources claim that the Alexandria silo was the only silo of the city that was in wide use during the 10th century when this harbor silted up.
During the archaeological excavation undertaken in the harbor, 34 ships were excavated out of which 21 were in the Metro while 13 were in the Marmaray excavations. Once again, this harbor silted up from the alluvion brought by the waters of the Lycos (Bayrampasa) River which emptied in the natural bay. Apart from the alluvion, the built of enormous silt was also the result of the construction and farming carried out in the city.
From the excavations, it came to the notice that the majority of the shipwrecks in the Theodosius Harbor are at the eastern side nearing the entrance of the harbor. While the harbor was thought to have been silted up from the western end towards the east, the eastern end continued to be in wide use till a natural calamity that took place in the 10th or the beginning of the 11th century rendered extensive damage to the ships there.
The YK 1 ship that carried amphorae from the Marmara Island and was anchored here was claimed by the excavations to have been sunk. The YK 12 was another shipwreck that was found in the excavations in the area of the harbor. Several fragments of amphorae along with 16 intact amphorae were found on this YK 12. Although, at present, the exact cause of the disaster that struck these ships cannot be found, however, the assumption is some natural disaster or tragedy including tsunami or a storm might be the possible reason behind the cause of the disaster to these ships.
The history of Istanbul has got some very crucial data from the architectural remains recovered to the western side of the Yenikapi excavation area in the work being carried out in the 3rd and 2nd Zone towards the east. A quay consisting of stone blocks of rectangular shape has been found at the western edge within the breakwater.
The excavations in the Metro area uncovered a church building that was believed to be built in the 13th century A.D. when large amount of silt was piling up in the harbor. And around this church building were found twenty-three graves. The excavations also unearthed a gold coin belonging to the time of Justinian the Great (527-565 A.D.).
In the Yenikapi excavations being carried out under the Marmaray and Metro Project, nearly 25,000 artifacts have been unearthed so far. And the most distinguishing factor or such findings happens to be the vital information provided by them regarding day-to-day life, economy, trade, culture and religious aspects of the period to which they belong. Some of the findings uncovered during the excavations include hawsers of the sunken ships, inscribed image of a ship on an amphora that belongs to the 10th century, iron and stone anchors and baked clay tablets with names, place of origin of the owners of the ship inscribed on them. All such findings also provide important information regarding the types of ships and the shipping during the period.
Apart from the above named findings, there are nearly 2,500 items made of wood including combs, different varieties of spoons, bath clogs etc. that have been found by the excavation work. Also, a Christ figure, tools of bone and ivory, a bronze balance, bronze weights, lead tablets and a scale weight in the form of Athena’s bust throw light on the lifestyle of the period they belong.
Archaeological excavations in Sirkeci
Under the Marmaray Project, the archaeological works being carried out in the eastern and the western shafts and in the south and the north entrance areas of the Rail Station in Sirkeci provide an excellent opportunity for knowing the stratigraphy of the city of Istanbul. In such excavation works, several structural remains that belong to the period ranging from the Early Byzantine to the Byzantine and even the Late Ottoman times along with a considerable number of small items and pottery have been found. These relate important details about the different aspects of the life of these periods.
Archaeological excavations in Uskudar Square
As part of the Marmaray project, a large number of archaeological excavations were undertaken from the year 2004 which continued till the year 2008. These excavations conducted in the Uskudar Square found the remains of the foundation of a bazaar whose existence was although known from a number of other sources but was unable to have been unearthed so far. And to unearth the foundation of this bazaar, the workers involved in the excavation work had to drill up quite deep up to nearly 7 meters. The archaeological remains was found deep in the fill dirt. In the excavations, there were no traces or archaeological remains belonging to the Roman period or the earlier periods. But, the excavations uncovered a huge amount of pottery, along with coins, oil-lamps, stamp seals that dated back to the different periods ranging from the Roman period to the Late Roman period and the Byzantine period.
City break in Istanbul at Sultanahmet
By any standards, Istanbullus are proud of their city. And since you can hardly walk down a street in Sultanhamet without falling over some Byzantine or Ottoman relic they do have a few things to boast about.
But there’s more to Istanbul than antiquity and I was determined to get to the heart of the reputation of this mighty metropolis. Although I was initially unsure about Istanbul as a family holiday destination, it was the presence of my small daughter that was the key.
Within half an hour of arriving she was being called princess and offered the hand of the waiter’s brother’s son in marriage.
Ancient monuments
In the ancient Aya Sofya (Hagia Sophia) she scuttled around on the smooth stone floors and climbed up and down a hundreds-of-years-old wooden platform while we admired the still beautiful frescoes under the might dome.
The Blue Mosque is only a few hundred metres away but quite a contrast in terms of atmosphere and upkeep. The littel one enjoyed the thick carpet, lying on her back and gazing up at the lights and beautiful tiles.
There is a lot to see at the Topkapi Palace and you should allow a whole afternoon. Beyond the spooky harem, the sumptuous apartments, and the eye-popping jewels, the most beautiful structure is the very last you reach after the many courts and gardens. The delicate decoration of the pavilion and romantic views across the Bosphorus to the Galata Tower on the Golden Horn under a dusty apricot sky is matchless.
On Divan Yolu, the main thoroughfare of Sultanhamet, we all enjoyed delicious stuffed aubergine and the ubiquitous bulgher wheat rice salad at Bayan 2 restaurant, before raiding one of the many patisseries for a sweet bite.
Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia in Sultanahmet Istanbul Turkey
Istanbul or Rome?
I wonder if you’ve been travelling too long when you feel compelled to compare every new destination with another place but I did often feel in Beyoglu that I might be wandering the streets of some western European capital.
From the excitement of the youthful population thronging a main drag lined with gem after gem of art nouveau architecture, to the antique tram ding dinging its way down from Taksim square, this district has something for everyone, as well as the most glamorous kebab shops you’ll ever see.
There are pretty arcades with antiques, jewellery and bric a brac, and the regeneration of historic Levantine buildings in the streets off Istikal Caddesi is good to see.
Gulhane Park is a beautiful sight in autumn; kick your feet through the leaves and enjoy a pot of tea and a dish of pistachio ice cream overlooking the Bosphorus in the tea garden below the walls of the Topkapi Palace.
Bazaar ‘til you drop
Near the Grand Bazaar a man sits in the window of his rug shop, completely surrounded by great piles of kilims like an Arabian night. Inside the largest enclosed bazaar in the world it is all glitz and gold and souvenir trinkets but still men sit passing the time of day on low stools; prayer beads dripping from their fingertips and tea delivered in little glasses on a silver tray.
Through the haberdashery quarter porters carry huge loads, bent double with their leather backpacks on the streets leading upward to the Suleymaniye mosque, its interior still shrouded for restoration.
Or head down through the street of Christmas decoration shops to the fragrant delights of the Spice Bazaar. Here you will find scoops of apple tea, towers of nougat, dishes of chestnuts, tubs of Turkish delight, pyramids of spices and baskets of dried flowers.
Across the Golden Horn in Beyoglu join the throngs of young Istanbullus surging down Istikal Caddesi from Taksim square, enjoying the shops, eateries and entertainment.
Crossing continents
Touching down on the Asian side of the Bosphorus is not always on an Istanbul city break schedule but it’s well worth the visit once you get past the noisy traffic of the waterfront. The ferry ride from Eminonu is a pleasure in itself.
The streets are festooned with russet-coloured grapevines in autumn and there’s nothing touristy about a wander through the street markets and funky cafes with the locals.
Turkish shopkeepers take great pride in their displays and in the Kadikoy district you will not fail to be impressed by the carefully-arranged stacks of giant broccoli, shiny shoals of fish and piles of grapevine leaves.
We had a fabulous meal at the fashionable Ciya Sofrasi, which specialises in delicious mounds of baked pilaf fragrant with almonds and raisins; the delicately spiced house kebab; and black mulberry sherbet beverages. For dessert you can’t go past the baked pistachio cream of the Dough Plies or the melt-in-the-mouth Teleme cream figs.
One final mosque
Deep in the back streets of Sultanhamet is a small mosque that is inexplicably missed off many Istanbul itineraries. We had the Sokollu Mehmet Pasa Camii to ourselves, apart from the elderly retainer, and a peaceful sense of spirituality pervades that is missing from the great domes of the city.
The high quality Iznik tiles and original painted wooden ceiling panels complement the graceful dome by Istanbul’s premier historic architect, Mimar Sinan.
The heart of the city
Sitting in the park that separates Aya Sofia and the Blue Mosque, long shadows are cast by cypresses across lawns strewn with yellow plane leaves. Rusty chestnuts line the avenue and the cacophony of competing muezzin cries fades.
Passersby stop to chuck the cheeks of my little daughter, smiling as they imitate her baby babble. In the restaurants fellow diners turn to make friends; an old man trying to make her laugh by showing her the sugar cube held between his teeth as he sips his tea.
She danced to traditional Turkish music on a bandstand off Divan Yolu and grinned at the shoe-shine man. And everywhere she was welcome; the centre of attention with both men and women.
Beyond history and culture, today it’s the warmth of her people that make Istanbul great.
Natasha von Geldern
More information:
Natasha stayed at the stylish Midtown Hotel, which is centrally located in a pleasant street just off Taksim Square, at the top of the district of Beyoglu. Midtown Hotel is a member of Special Hotels of the World. For more information or to book please visit the website or call 020 7380 3658.
Pegasus Airlines flies daily from London Stansted to Istanbul's new Sabiha Gokcen airport from £39.99. A shuttle bus runs hourly from the airport to Taksim Square for around £6.
Natasha used Rough Guides’ Istanbul, an erudite, comprehensive guide to the Turkish capital.
(TravelBite.co.uk Tuesday, 15 Dec 2009)