OVERVIEW

Spa: Hürrem Sultan Hamami
Location: Cankurtaran Neighborhood Hagia Sophia Square No:2 Sultanahmet Fatih / Istanbul, Turkiye
Visit: June 2024
Recommend : Experience an authentic public bathhouse, Hagia Sophia Hurrem Sultan Bathhouse, built in the 1500s; restored in 2008.

Entrance for women are on the opposite side of the facility from the men’s entrance.

A staff member greets you at the facility’s entrance which is several steps lower than ground level, confirms your session start time, then directs you to place covers on your shoes before entering the building.

person standing on brown carpet wearing beige shoes with one plastic covering on the left shoe

The initial floor is similar to an indoor courtyard with the administrative desk for securing reservations and making payments directly across from the entrance. Compared to the Turkish bath experience I had at a smaller facility, Levni Hotel and Spa, the space at Hurrem Sultan Hamami is very large - imagine walking into a hotel lobby - and brightly lit.

two ladies wearing white robes and drinking tea while seated on a white couch.

I chose the Zevki-Sefa session which includes a full body massage after the Turkish bath. This session included use of a private changing room on the second floor before returning to the lower courtyard. This sounds like a nice upgrade from changing with other ladies in the lower level except for my fear of heights and the upper levels being open to the first floor courtyard and having low (to me) wood paneled railings (see photo).

three levels of the interior of the facility. The upper three levels have wooden panels between posts to serve as passageways. the bottom floor has marble flooring and comfortable seating. — interior view of the facility with the upper levels having wooden balconies that open to the lower level.

An attendant led me from the private changing room to the lower level changing area. From there, I changed into disposable underwear and a soft robe. Lockers are provided for all other items. I took a seat in the courtyard area, accepted a hot Turkish tea and waited for my attendant.

Marble walls and floor leading to a marble vessel used for dispensing warm water. — Attendant held my hand and led me through this beautiful space.

Each guest is led by hand to the bath area. My attendant arrived shortly and walked me to the brightly lit, large open room with the marble area for the baths.

Without my eyeglasses, I can’t see far. I did sense the spaciousness of the room, like walking into the Capitol building with its huge rotunda. I didn’t try to count or see the other women receiving similar treatments in the open space. I focused on keeping my footing on the wet floors.

My attendant guided me to a section on the side. I had a private space for being scrubbed vigorously with a dense cloth and liberally doused with bowls of warm and sometimes hot water.

rotunda with pentagon shapes emitting light onto the tiled floor of a hamam. — Attendant took me to the space similar to the one shown in the center of this image.

The water came first, then the scrubbing. After being thoroughly rinsed, the very slippery and moisturizing suds were applied. While lying on the marble, I tried to see the details of the ceiling. The image shown captures the natural light shining through the pentagon shapes carved in the dome.

After the washing and rinsing of my body, the therapist did the same for my hair with a redbud extract shampoo that smelled amazing. I felt thoroughly cleansed and relaxed. At her signal, I took her hand and she led me back to the main courtyard for a glass of tea. While I enjoyed the tea, the therapist left to change into a uniform.

The last part of my session was a massage with redbud oil in a private massage room. This meant ascending the stairs and navigating the upstairs hallway. The attendant found a room close to the staircase. Being so relaxed, I put my arm into hers, closed my eyes and trusted her to place me in the room safely. She did.

The massage was primarily Swedish. I fell asleep because it was relaxing and I was tired. I felt like she was taking her time and being very intentional with strokes, not quickly rubbing oil on my skin and calling it a massage. After the massage, we repeated the “eyes closed” walk back to the lower level changing room where I retrieved my eyeglasses and got dressed.

a small fluted glass filed with tea on a brass tray — Elegant presentation of tea and Turkish delights.

The session ends with another hot tea and Turkish delights.

TIPS FOR YOUR VISIT TO HSH

1. Get a Turkish bath when you aren’t concerned about having a specific, dry hairstyle. I didn’t see any tools (e.g., blowdryers, curling irons) for recreating hairstyles.

2. Arrive 15-20 minutes before your scheduled session. You have to put plastic covers on your shoes before entering and you need to settle your bill before you start. Give yourself time to get ready for your “window”; only so many people are permitted into the bath at one time.

3. Use the locker to store your cell phone as there isn’t a dry place to store it in the bath area.

4. The Levni Hotel and Spa offered a similar experience in 2024, without the historical setting and expansive space, for a third of the price with access to a dry sauna and an indoor pool.

RESULTS: CHANGES AT FIBRE

We’ve rearranged the seating used for the foot bath to take advantage of the natural light filtering through the glass paneled French doors. Although we won’t have light filtering in through pentagon shapes, it’s a softer light than dimmed, overhead lights during daylight hours.
To freely use large quantities of water, as done at HSH, we would have to install a separate facility similar to a steam room. Instead of adding a new room, we will continue using the dry, raw silk gloves when offering exfoliation.
Requiring the placement of plastic covers over shoes does help reduce the amount of dirt brought into the facility. At fibre, we will continue swapping out shoes with washable sandals. The decreased amount of plastics being disposed is also a benefit of using spa shoes that can be cleaned and disinfected.
To mimic the redbud oil provided for a relaxing massage session, an essential oil blend with Rosewood Oil will be added to the selection.
Please enter the code
“LIGHT”
to receive 10% off any Returning Client session. Code expires 30 April 2025.