Turkey scrubs up its baths to keep hammam tradition alive

For centuries, hammams were central to Ottoman society, and while they mostly fell out of use with the advent of running water, many in Turkey are being restored to revive an ancient ritual bathing tradition. A mainstay of old Turkish films, hammam scenes were highly entertaining, a free space where women would socialize, eat, drink and even dance. Last year, Istanbul’s 500-year-old Zeyrek Cinili Hammam — built during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent by the celebrated Ottoman architect Sinan — reopened after a painstaking 13-year restoration.

Alongside a functioning hammam, it also houses a museum explaining its history and the Ottoman ritual of bathing. “The restoration somehow turned into an archaeological dig” that gave insight into how the hammam once looked, museum manager Beril Gur Tanyeli told AFP. “Around 3,000 pieces of missing tiles were found which helped solve the puzzle of why this hammam was called Cinili” — Turkish for “covered with tiles”.

Tiles that once decorated the interior of the 16th-century Turkish bath, Zeyrek Cinili hammam, and found during the restoration of the bath, are displayed in the museum of the hammam, in Istanbul.--AFP photos

A view of the museum of the newly-restored 16th-century Turkish bath, Zeyrek Cinili hammam.

Men wearing cotton loin cloths lie on a heated marble slab.

Wooden slippers worn by women in the Turkish bath are displayed in the museum.

A scratched galleon on a brick, found during the restoration of the 16th-century Turkish bath, Zeyrek Cinili hammam.

Pieces of tiles that once decorated the interior of the 16th-century Turkish bath, Zeyrek Cinili hammam, are displayed.

Men are scrubbed and bathed during a hammam at the Turkish baths.

This aerial view shows the 500-year-old Zeyrek Cinili hammam.

Manolya Gokgoz, public relations manager for the 16th century Cemberlitas Hammam, poses in Istanbul.

The beautiful Iznik tiles that once lined its walls were exclusively produced for the hammam. No other bathhouse had such a rich interior, museum officials say. Although most were damaged by fires or earthquakes, or sold off to European antique dealers in the 19th century, some are still visible. The restoration also exposed several Byzantine cisterns beneath the hammam. “Sinan the Architect is believed to have built the hammam on top of these cisterns to use them as a foundation and as a source of water,” Tanyeli said.

From cleansing to celebration

In ancient Rome, bathing culture was very important and it was “traditional for traders to wash before entering the city, especially in baths at the (city) entrance,” archaeologist Gurol Tali told AFP. During the Ottoman empire, a golden age for bathhouses, the ritual symbolized both bodily cleanliness and purity of soul. In Islam, a Muslim must wash before praying, in an act known as ablution. Hammams were also a place for celebrating births and weddings.

Wooden slippers worn in the Turkish bath are displayed.

Men are scrubbed and bathed during a hammam at the Turkish baths.

A man bathes during a hammam at the Turkish baths.

This photograph shows the resting area after a bath, inside the 16th-century Zeyrek Cinili hammam.

This photograph shows coins found during the restoration of the 16th-century Turkish bath.

Pieces of tiles that once decorated the interior of the 16th-century Turkish bath.

Wooden slippers worn in the Turkish bath are displayed in the museum.

Men wearing cotton loincloths lie on a heated marble slab in the central room.

Men are scrubbed and bathed during a hammam at the Turkish baths.

“Baths were used not only for cleansing the body but for socializing, relaxing, healing and even celebrating important life events,” with special rites for brides, soldiers and young boys before they were circumcised, Tali said. Since households at the time did not have running water, hammams were an essential part of life until the 19th century, with census figures from 1638 showing there were 14,536 public and private baths in Istanbul, the museum said.

And that tradition has survived until today. “You come here to get clean and leave handsome,” said Zafer Akgul, who was visiting a hammam in the city with his son, telling AFP he visited often, particularly during religious feasts or for a wedding. “We don’t want this tradition to die.”