Hello,
We will be arriving in Istanbul tomorrow until Sunday evening via cruise ship .We have booked an independent tour for the full day on Friday but we’d like to visit a hammam either Thursday late afternoon or Saturday morning.
Maybe it would be better to relax after the hammam
experience?
We would also be interested in visiting the cistern site as well as doing some shopping for cashmere, towels and scarves.
Would appreciate any suggestions you can send our way. Thank you
P.S. there may be some posts on hammams on this site but not sure how to search it ?
Posted by
Atlanta, GA
783 posts
I had a great experience at Cagloglu Hamam, which has been in operation since the 1700's. It's not the cheapest, but they treated us like Ottoman royalty. You will need to make reservations: https://cagalogluhamami.com.tr/en/ . There are several other historic hamams, but I haven't visited them.
As for shopping, you can get Turkish peshtemal towels on Amazon. I wouldn't buy them in Turkey unless you run across a really good deal (which means some place other than the Grand Bazaar). I have bought towels in Turkey, but always from out of the way local places.
Scarves, on the other hand, are a different matter. I am a self-professed scarf junky, and shopping for scarves is a must anytime I am in Turkey. The Grand Bazaar is loaded with any kind of scarf you can possibly imagine --- expensive scarves, cheap scarves, silk, cotton -- you name it. One of my favorite experiences was getting some money from an ATM, and then shopping for scarves until the money was gone. I have never had so much fun spending $100. (There is another market on the far side of Sultanahmet, but I haven't tried it. I am sure others will chime in.) You can get better deals in places other than the Grand Bazaar, but if your time is limited I would stick with the Grand Bazaar. It is scarf nirvana.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
2714 posts
I went to Hurrem Sultan Hammami, right next to Hagia Sophia. It is probably the most expensive option in Istanbul, but I've not felt so pampered in a long while. I agree you probably won't want to do much after your treatment, so I'd pick Thursday evening (they're open pretty late). You do have to reserve ahead, bookable online.
I agree with the prior poster about the shopping choices, other than maybe scarves and evil eye tokens, you're not going to get a great deal there.
PS to search the forum, there is a search bar near the top of the web page (has a spyglass and the word "search" on it). Type in "hammam Istanbul" and then you can filter the results by more recent or older forum posts.
Posted by
Chicago
19 posts
If you go to any specific hamam don’t worry about new clothes to change them . They give you towel etc. what you need .