I have a few questions regarding hammams - if it matters, the two hammams I am looking at are Cemberlitas and Ayasofya Hürrem Sultan Hamam (Roxelana's Bath).
I am a plus sized female - am I going to feel out of place in a hammam?
How large are the pestamals that they give you to change into? I am worried that it won't fit (I am 1X-2X up top and 3X down below).
Thanks for your help.
I went to the Aya Sofia Hamman last summer . The pestamals are like thin bath towels. I don't remember how large they are but you could always bring your own. There are many shops in Istanbul where you can buy Turkish towels and pestamals. I wouldn't let the size of a pestamals keep me from a hamman experience.
When I used neighborhood hammams for regular bathing in Morocco, I learned about all the different shapes women could come in. (In those places, genders were separated and we just wore our underpants.) In Turkey as well as Morocco, I'd say that a "healthy" round figure is expected, at least on middle-aged women. I know that our tour members and tour guides of many shapes and sizes have tried the hammam option in Turkey.
