Hurrem Sultan Hammam

About Hurrem Sultan Hammam

Hurrem Sultan Hammam sits on Ayasofya Meydani in Istanbul's Fatih district, in the strip of open ground directly between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. It was built in the 1550s on the orders of Suleyman the Magnificent, designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan and named for Hurrem Sultan, the sultan's wife (known in the West as Roxelana). The building has an unusual layout: two symmetrical bath sections placed end to end, one that was historically for men and one for women, sharing a single long axis. For much of the 20th century it wasn't a working bath at all, and after a careful restoration it reopened as a functioning hammam.

The interior is what you'd expect from a Sinan design, marble halls under domed ceilings with small star-shaped openings that let in thin shafts of daylight. A standard visit runs about an hour and follows the old sequence. You warm up on the heated marble platform in the center of the hot room, then get a kese scrub to lift off dead skin, followed by a foam massage to loosen tight muscles. You can move between the hot, warm, and cool rooms at your own pace rather than rushing through. Extras are usually available on top of the basic bath, things like an oil massage, a clay or face mask, or the use of a private treatment room.

Because of where it stands, the hammam is easy to fold into a day in the old city. It's a few minutes' walk from Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and the Basilica Cistern, so a bath makes a natural break after a morning of sightseeing on foot. Bring nothing special. Towels and the traditional pestemal wrap are provided, and you'll be given somewhere to change and store your things. It's worth booking ahead, especially in peak season and for the more popular evening slots, since walk-in space can be limited.