Turkish Bath – Hamam in Turkish – is one of the oldest Ottoman traditions and it is still very popular amongst tourists. But most of the foreigners coming to Turkey just do not know which bath they should choose.

Actually there are several good hamams in Istanbul but here I want to tell you about the recently restored and a very modern one, Hurrem Sultan Hamami.

Hurrem Sultan Hamami has been constructed by Mimar Sinan by command of Hurrem Sultan in the 16.century but for many years until 2011, it was inactive and in a shape that was unusable. But today it is one of the best baths in Turkey with the latest restoration.

The name of the bath comes from the woman who gave the command of the construction.

Hurrem Sultan has been the most precious wife of Sultan Suleiman The Magnificent.

She came to Topkapi Palace as a slave and used to hate all the Ottomans until the moment she saw Suleiman and fell in love with him. It was not an easy job to reach him but she was smart enough to get over every single problem she had to face during many years. When she arrived to the palace for the first time, she had taken an oath to reign the world one day and after many years she achieved it.

Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent was a very strict man but he was deeply in love with this ugly woman and used to do whatever she wanted.

Hurrem Sultan left behind lots of monuments and this hamam is one of all these things. It has been used for many years but got very old and until 2007, nobody even attempted to renovate it. The municipality also refused the idea because it was a very expensive job.

At last, a private foundation decided to take over it and the restoration of the bath took around 4 years and costed approximately 10 million dollars. Today it is operated by Haseki Tourism Group and the cost of the entrance is around 50 to 70 euros per person depending on the services.

It is located in the middle of old city center of Istanbul; Sultanahmet- near Hagia Sophia museum. That is why is also called Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamami.

Next to the hamam, there is a big, open air cafeteria called Dervish Cay Bahcesi where a Whirling Derviches show can be seen during the summer nights for free, of course on condition that you eat or drink something here. It is also a very old and a famous one, strongly recommended to stop by some time.

Another important thing to remember is; if the weather is very hot, try staying no longer than an hour in a Turkish bath.