Visiting a Hamam - My Experience, Step by Step
Trent thinks that I should title this post “How to take your mom to a Hamam”. Because I did just that, so I can speak as an expert (ha!). But seriously, this post was inspired by that experience. I had visited a hamam prior to taking my mom and sister to one while they visited us in Marrakech. They had so many questions before our visit and were relieved to have me help guide them through it.
If you’ve ever thought about visiting a hamam, I’m hear to share my experience and give you some insight!
What is a hamam?
First, what is a hamam? I had never heard the term before traveling! A hamam, or Turkish bath, is a place of public bathing in the Islamic world. Hamams are often located near mosques and the ritual of bathing is tied to the religious practice of cleansing before prayer. They are also a place of social gathering. We learned from our guide in Marrakech that each community has a mosque, hamam, school, market, and bread oven. Hamams are a major feature of daily life in Islamic communities.
I visited a hamam in both Istanbul and Marrakech. It might have just been because it was my first experience, but the hamam in Istanbul was, easily, a better experience overall. I will share my experience there step by step below. But, in both cases, visiting a hamam was a wonderful reprieve from the bustling city. A time to relax and recharge and leave feeling renewed. It tops my list of things to experience in both Istanbul and Marrakech.
Since photos inside are not allowed, image via
My Experience at Kilic Ali Pasa Hamam
I was so intrigued to experience a visit to a hamam. In our travels before arriving to Istanbul, we had visited the baths in Budapest and saunas and pools in Slovenia. I was ready to up the “bath” experience in Turkey, but I was also nervous. Was I supposed to be totally naked? Would it be weird for someone to wash me? I decided to put my questions aside and just go with the experience. And I’m so glad that I did.
The Kilic Ali Pasa Hamam is not a tiny, locals-only hamam. They are used to tourists and hamam-newbies and guided me through the process. The hamam was built in the 16th century, in addition to the attached mosque, and spending time in the building alone was a calming experience. I truly wasn’t prepared for what an emotional experience the hamam ended up being for me. Being scrub and bathed by another person in such a generous, loving way wasn’t something that I experienced since I was a child. I felt transported back to bath time and that warm, comforting feeling. It made me appreciate and respect the time I spent bathing my own kids when they were younger. It just that simple. Touch, warm water and relaxation are an important part of connecting and I caught a small glimpse into why hamams are important to life in Islamic communities.
Hamam Steps
While these steps outline my experience at Kilic Ali Pasa, they are similar to my experience overall at the hamam in Marrakech.
Make a reservation - At Kilic Ali Pasa Hamam, women can visit in the morning, while men visit in the afternoon.
Check In - Your host will walk you through the hamam experience then you will complete a little paperwork and receive a locker key.
Change - Visit the dressing room, where your locker is located, and change down to your underwear or bathing suit bottom. You cannot be completely nude at the hammam (which was a relief!). Put on your robe and head out to the camegah (lounge).
Rinse - I was guided into the first room where a women took my robe and showered me off. The process was pretty quick and simply to remove outside dirt from your body.
Warm Up - Now, you enter the bath area which is also beautiful (seen in the photo above). The circular space has shower/bathing areas around the perimeter. In the center is a heated, hexagonal marble platform. Before being scrubbed and washed, you will spend approximately 20 minutes lying on the platform to warm up your body and get your skin ready to be cleansed. Other women are also lying on the platform, but, honestly, it didn’t feel uncomfortable at all. Everyone was respectful of their space and the room is so quiet with the sound of running water and soft chatter. It was such a relaxing part of the visit.
Bath Process - It’s the moment you came for. I can’t remember the exact order but I will try my best! A sweet woman came to get me from the marble platform. All of the women working in the bath area wear sports bras and fabric over what is probably swimsuit-type bottoms. She was so kind and spoke almost no English which relieved any nervousness around making polite conversation! She would mime what to do next and call me “Lady” anytime she needed to get my attention. It was all lovely. She started by washing my body and then scrubbed my skin. It never hurt but was a bit tender in places where skin is thinner. It felt so renewing to see dead skin go down the drain. (And after months of traveling, camping and beach trips, it was probably a lot!). Then she lathered me up with so many soap bubbles. She used fabric that looked like cheesecloth, dip it into a bucket of soapy water, swing the fabric through the air and then slide her hand down the fabric to create a huge, comical amount of bubbles. My kids would have gone crazy to see this and I vowed to learn how to do it myself (which I promptly never did). Clearly she was a professional and I was in good hands. After being washed in bubbles, she shampooed and conditioned my hair, put on my robe and then, sadly, my time was done. The whole process probably lasted 15-20 minutes.
Camegah (lounge) - After the bath treatment was over, you can spend as much time as you would like in the camegah. Servers bring around tea and you can order appetizers and other drinks. After a nap and some tea, I wrapped up my time. Before I knew it, I was changed back into my clothes and back out into the bustling streets of Istanbul.
Have I convinced you to visit a hamam? What other questions do you have about the experience? Anything that you want to share about your own hamam experience? Leave it all in the comments below!
