Cagaloglu Turkish Bath - Istanbul
What is It - Any visitor to the city of Istanbul or a quality resort in Turkey should strongly consider visiting a Turkish bath for an hour or two. It is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. For a traditional experience in a clean and professional environment, many people visit the Cagaloglu Baths in Istanbul. Like most establishments, Cagaloglu has separate male and female facilities where you are initially greeted, shown to a private changing room, and provided with sandals and a towel to wear along with cold drinks or tea. Then the fun begins.
Upon entering the bath, the first step in the process is to be doused with hot water and enter the steam room to sweat and prepare for cleansing. This is usually done by lying or sitting on a large marble slab in the center of the room along with other bathers. Then your assigned masseuse will exfoliate your entire body with incredible strength while usually using large mitts on both hands. Next you will be scrubbed and soaped up with tons of suds before your fingers and toes, arms and legs, neck and back will be cleaned and massaged. You will then generally be moved to a seat in one of several small chambers surrounding the slab and cooled down with buckets of water. After passing through a shower room, you return to your dressing room totally refreshed. After leaving a tip for your masseuse, you are ready to take on the day.
In modern Turkish culture, the baths also serve as a social center for friends to get together, relax and share stories. While some westerners are initially uncertain about trying this communal experience, others like my wife, son and I have returned to the baths on subsequent trips to the region
Interesting Facts - The tradition of public bathing dates to the Roman world where emperors and leading citizens built elaborate baths in major cities around the empire for use by the nobility and the plebes. Centuries later, the Seljuk Turks from Central Asia and devout Muslims from Arabia developed their own traditions of cleansing and ritual bathing. All these practices came together when the Turks conquered Constantinople in the 15th century and began building Turkish baths throughout their new empire. During the many centuries of Ottoman rule an estimated 20,000 baths were established and hundreds of those locations are still used today.
How to Get Here - Istanbul is the primary hub of Turkish airlines which has a very modern and respected fleet with daily direct flights from JFK and Boston which each take about 10 hours. The new Istanbul airport which opened last year is one of the largest in the world and is about a 60-minute drive from the city. The bath is located in the Sultanahmet section of old Istanbul close to many of the major sites including the Grand Bazaar and is not far from Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. The tram system which allows for easy movement around the city has a stop nearby.
When to Go - Istanbul can be cool and rainy in the winter from December to March, but the weather is quite pleasant during the rest of the year. While temperatures can exceed 85 in the summer, the breezes from the surrounding waters keep things cool during most of the day.
Cost - The cost for the basic program is around $60 dollars with additional charges for an oil massage or extra minutes of treatments.