the Ottoman conception of public baths was different from that of the Romans and Byzantines, who considered that thermaes was a place of meeting and relaxation, reserved to the high society. On the contrary, hammams built by sultans, vizirs or rich merchants, had a religious and popular origin deriving from both Koran (ablutions ritual) and the use of steamrooms by the Turks and the Mongols. They hold three rooms: a vestibule, a first temperate bath, and a steamroom heated by a stream of watersteam circulating under the slabs. Initially its plan was cubic with a dome, and was bare of any kind of ornementation. In the harems of palaces and rich houses, the hamam was a place of leisure and relaxation where women spent a lot of their time.

Galatasaray Hamami
Turnacibasi sok. 24 Galatasaray/Beyoglu
Phone: +90 212 252 42 42

Cagaloglu Hamami
Prof. Kazim Gurkan cad. 34 Cagaloglu
Phone: +90 212 522 24 24

Cemberlitas Hamami
Vezirhan cad.8 Cemberlitas
Phone: +90 212 522 79 74

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