Travel to Istanbul {The Turkish Bath Experience}

The Turkish bath I had in Istanbul during my trip to Europe was an unforgettable experience. Istanbul is a vibrant city with a rich history. I always loved traveling to places with wonderful architecture and unique cultural experiences. But, when my family decided to deep dive into their culture and try out their baths, I wasn't sure if that was the best idea to do with all my cousins and aunts.

{Cemberlitas Hamami Turkish Bath} 

Turkish baths were everywhere in town. And after speaking with the owner of the restaurant where we dined at, he recommended us to try Cemberlitas Hamami. From their website, they claimed to be one of the world's most authentic Turkish bath since 1584! We decided to give it a shot. We followed the direction of the owner and arrived at the entrance of a narrow storefront. The place was unnoticeable among all the prominent leather goods and grocery markets. We discreetly approached the reception upon entering the doors. The staff prompted us to choose a service from their menu. Not knowing what was ahead of us, we chose the historical sultan's bath.

The staff led us to the changing area on the 2nd floor where we undressed ourselves... Call me conservative but I brought my bathing suits with me just in case I could wear them in the baths. But of course that wasn't the case! They offered me a bath wrap and what I called a pair of paper panties to wear before we headed to the main bath area, göbek taşı.

The göbek taşı was like a sauna inside. I was sweating as soon as I entered the room. In the centre lay a big piece of heated marble platform with people lying down. Naked. All my aunts and cousins were there on the platform as well. I was stunned. An attendant in her lingerie-looking bathing suits instructed me to lie down on the platform in front of her. But, I couldn't find a space for my body. The platform was already overcrowded with almost no gaps between bodies. A woman's feet were right by my face. I lay there for a good 5 minutes, staring up at the beautiful dome above us. Natural light shone through the tiny window holes into the room. As I was admiring the cupola top, the attendant reappeared again and started throwing buckets of water at me. She caught me off guard. She immediately lathered me with soap and scrubbed with her exfoliating gloves.

I suddenly felt like a piece of meat on a grill. She even flipped me around so that she could scrub every part of me. She, then took me to the marble basin area, where she poured water over my head to rinse the soap away. She patted my shoulder and told me I could go.

I was the first to finish from my family. I proceeded to the 3rd floor into a private room for a massage. Another attendant came in and massaged my shoulders and neck with aromatherapy oil. I felt pleasantly relaxed. She smooched my forehead to end. The entire massage took about 15 minutes.

Photo source: Cemberlitas Hamami 

Overall, I found this Turkish bath experience to be interesting and exotic than the baths I've tried in Japan and China. I hope this post give you a better idea of what a Turkish Bath is like. If you'd like to experience how baths were done for sultan over the centuries, then you wouldn't want to miss this! After this sensual bath and massage treatment, you'd feel revitalized. 

Have you tried Turkish baths? What was your experience like?

{#HosGoGlobal to Europe}

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Or check out my post on My First Japanese Hot Springs Experience!