The bath of Roxelan (Hurrem sultan hamamı)

  Hagia Sophia Hurrem Sultan Hamam

 Every time a new sultan was

 appointed in the Ottoman Empire, the

 entire women's harem was renewed.

 They say that little Roxelana (Hürrem)

 was already there as a servant in

 times of Selim I ‘the Grim’ (so

 nicknamed because he executed all

 his children except one, the heir,

 following their dynastic traditions), but

 they kept her,  and the mother of the

 new sultan, Suleiman (nicknamed ‘the

 magnificent’) liked her character very

 much, so much so that later she

 prepared her to be his new concubine.

 Suleiman fell in love with that young

 European woman, with red hair and a

 cheerful character (who arrived there

 after being kidnapped by pirates and

 sold in the slave market) and married

 her. Thus the era of the sultanate of

 women was inaugurated, who until

  then could not marry and also could

 only have one child with the sultan.

 In 1557, Suleiman commissioned the

 architect Sinan the construction of the

 Hammam, which is located in Istanbul,

 between Haghia Sofia and the Sultan

 Ahmed (Blue) Mosque. 

 

 It is a small luxury to combat the low

 temperatures by visiting the Hammam,

 whose main benefit is the care and

 recovery of the body and soul, through

 the relaxation produced by cleaning,

 heat and massage.

 The Hammam are the Ottoman

 version of the Roman baths and a

 humid variant of the sauna, in which

 the heat is supplied with steam,

 oxygenating and revitalizing the body.

 Before, they also had a social function

 due to the fact that they served as a

 meeting place; some neighborhood

 hammams have been more abused by

 the passage of time. Not so the

 bathroom of the Sultana Hürrem, (built on the old baths of Zeuxion that in turn

 were built on a temple dedicated to

 Zeus) that has gained in beauty,

 neatness, customer service and

 services after being renovated.

 It consists of two symmetrical parts,

 not L-shaped as it used to be, but

 oriented from north to south with

 separate sections for men and

 women, as tradition dictates, and two

 heat rooms, at different temperatures.

 Surrounded by marble sinks with

 golden taps where the sound of

 running water induces meditation and

 relaxation, the masseuse exfoliates

 with a scratchy glove and then

 massages with Turkish soap foam,

 whose clean smell is delicious; This is

 done on a hot central stone called

 ‘Gobek taş’ where cold and hot water

 rinses are alternated for which they

 use a special bronze container, which

 in contact with the water reveals its

 Ayurvedic properties.

 The temperature is not uniform (25 to

 50 degrees according to the height);

 the environment is saturated with

 water vapor and, unlike the dry sauna,

 prevents the sweating process. You

 have to hydrate to compensate for the

 loss of water that will occur.

 You go out and cool off, and then

 come back in if you want to continue

 but it’s important to wait for the body to

 stop sweating before going back in. 

 And you are ready to optionally enjoy a

 massage with essential oils and leave

 renewed inside and out.