Dating back to the 1400′s, Hammam bath houses are some of the most beautiful buildings still standing & are one of the first places you must visit when traveling through Istanbul.

The Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamam in Istanbul was designed and built by Mimar Sinan, the chief Ottoman architect & was built at the request of Hurrem Sultan (Roxelana), the wife of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in the 16th century (1556-1557 AD).

The method of bathing was popularized in the Victorian era but has roots relating to Greek & ancient Roman bathing traditions. It is told that sisters & mothers were sent to bath houses to size up potential brides in the nude before their sons & brothers married!

You begin in a warm dry room before making your way into the hararet, a hot sauna-like room to perspire, slow down & unwind.

You then meet your masseur for your rejuvenating bath & exfoliating body scrub while lying on the göbektaşı, the raised marble central heated platform.

Completely cleansed & skin softer than you have ever imagined, you depart feeling relaxed, purified & ready to explore the rest of the magnificent city.