Turkish bath – Hamam in turkish – it is one of the oldest Ottoman traditions and is still very popular with tourists. But most foreigners who come to Turkey simply don’t know which bathroom to choose.
In fact, there are several good hamams in Istanbul, but here I want to tell you about the recently restored and very modern, Hurrem Sultan Hamami.
Hurrem Sultan Hamami has been built by Mimar Sinan on the order of Hurrem Sultan in the 16th century, but for many years until 2011, it was idle and in an unusable form. But today it is one of the best baths in Turkey with the latest restoration.
The name of the bathroom comes from the woman who commanded the construction.
Hurrem Sultan has been the most precious wife of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.
She came to Topkapi Palace as a slave and used to hate all the Ottomans until the moment she saw Suleiman and fell in love with him. It was not an easy job to communicate with him, but she was smart enough to overcome all the problems that she had to face for many years. When he first came to the palace, he had taken an oath to rule the world one day and after many years he succeeded.
Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent was a very strict man, but he was deeply in love with this ugly woman and used to do what she wanted.
Hurrem Sultan left many monuments and this hamam is one of those things. It has been used for many years, but it got very old and until 2007 no one even tried to renew it. The municipality also rejected the idea because it was a very expensive job.
Finally, a private foundation decided to take over and the restoration of the bathroom took about 4 years and cost approximately 10 million dollars. Today it is operated by Haseki Tourism Group and the cost of entry is around 50 to 70 euros per person depending on the services.
It is located in the middle of the old city of Istanbul; Sultanahmet, near the Hagia Sophia museum. That is why it is also called Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamami.
Next to the hamam, there is a large outdoor cafe called Dervish Cay Bahcesi where you can see a Whirling Dervishes show during the summer nights for free, of course, on the condition that you eat or drink something here. It is also very old and famous, it is highly recommended to spend some time.
Another important thing to remember is; if it is very hot, try to stay no more than an hour in a Turkish bath.