I choose to go to Aga Hamami bath in Istanbul, Turkey based on a recommendation but didn’t know much about what to expect. I purchased the full package including scrub down, oil massage, face mask, and head massage for $33.21 USD through the Viator website.
Just so you know, you only have to pick a day for your reservation but not a time. You can show up at any time during their open hours that you wish. My experience lasted a little under two hours overall so plan accordingly.
Wear a swimsuit: Aga Hamami is a co-ed bath and they do allow you to wear a swimsuit. (Not all of the Turkish baths allow you to wear swimsuits so check the website of the one you choose.) I didn’t know this so I was just covered with a towel and kept my underwear on. I did find myself worried that my towel would fall at some point during my experience so I would have preferred to bring a swimsuit that I could have changed into.
When you enter the bath, they will point you to a changing room. The will give you a towel, slippers, and a little loofah that they will use to scrub you down. They didn’t lock the rooms so I would try not to bring many valuables with you. Once you are changed, they will escort you into a room with many different faucets. This is one of the co-ed areas of the bath. You can fill the sinks below and then use the buckets to douse yourself with water. They just have you lounge in this area for a little while so make yourself comfortable. They have a couple of rooms off to the side which are saunas. I spent about two minutes in one and then couldn’t survive the heat.
Bath Time:
You will get escorted to a small room for a scrub down. In the room, they have two women to wash. So you will be in there with another women getting a treatment as well. If you wore a swimsuit, they will make you take off the top. They then use the loofah that they gave you and thoroughly scrub you down. You will see layers of skin come off and I didn’t realize how much I needed an exfoliation! I heard this is normal since they rub you down pretty hard. This treatment is not for the shy or bashful. First she pulled my underwear down a bit to wash my butt. Then she pulled my underwear up so I basically had a wedgie so she can get your butt cheeks scrubbed. She will then have you sit down on a stool and douse your entire body with water with small buckets of water. So no point in doing your hair or make-up before going!
Next, she will cover you with bubbles using what looked like a pillow case to capture all of the bubbles. I can never get that many bubbles in my bathtub let alone for them to stay so I have no idea how they did that! She will then again rinse you off and you are done with the bath part of your bath experience.
Oil Massage:
I was then told to go to the second floor to lounge on of the the comfy beds they have set up. Again you just relax and they will bring you tea if you want it and wait to be called. They bring you up to the third floor into the private rooms for the massage. The oil massage was a full body massage but a very quick one. I would guess that it probably lasted 10 minutes. It was relaxing and a decent massage, I just wish it had lasted longer!
Face Mask:
I was told to go back to the second floor and again relax on one of the beds. A man came and applied a face mask that felt like a mud mask. He had me sit and relax for 10 minutes while it dried. They then asked you to go back to the third floor and wash your face off on one of the sinks. I could have lived without the face mask. I didn’t notice it doing anything magical for my face and it wasn’t any sort of unique experience.
Head Massage
The last part of the package was the head massage which was also about 10 minutes. He rubbed something onto my forehead and hair that smelled like peppermint. I found the guy to have a light touch and felt like he was more of rubbing my head then massaging it. I could have skipped the head massage part of the package.
Overall, I enjoyed the bath experience at Aga Hamami. I think a bath visit if a must for anyone visiting Turkey!
Leave a Reply