Category: Istanbul

Written by mccown @ Weekend Blitz

This entry is part 13 of 13 in the series Turkey/Portugal

While we were in Istanbul, we were bound and determined to get the full experience of visiting an authentic Turkish bath. We began researching the different options after we’d arrived in Istanbul and quickly found out that the true Turkish baths have separate male and female sections (that makes sense… not trying to be ogled by strange men). But, after scouting out TripAdvisor and a few other websites, we gathered that many of the “true” Turkish bath visits involve excessively awkward experiences, compliments of lots of old-person nudity.

Throw in a language barrier, and we (hesitantly) opted for the more conservative route with a much more touristy hamam.  Lame, I know, but there were a few very graphic TripAdvisor reviews that we had no intention of encountering for ourselves – the most memorable review described, “he try to put his thing in my mouth while washing.” Ehh, we’re all for new cultural experiences but this was where we drew the line.

The one we ended up choosing, Süleymaniye Hamam, was nonetheless an old, authentic building that had been a bath since the 15th century. The Sultan himself had bathed there on numerous occasions and, thankfully, the hamam had plenty of great reviews.

We arrived and were given small garments to wear (mine were similar to a very skimpy, mesh bikini) and shown to wooden stalls to change.

The lobby/changing area at the Süleymaniye Hamam

Reception Area

From there, were were led to a huge sauna/steam room for about 40 minutes. Because the building is so old, it looks nothing like a typical sauna we’ve visited in the states – it’s a large room made entirely of marble with a huge, round slab in the middle where you can sit or lie down.

One of the marble sauna rooms at Süleymaniye Hamam

After sweating out all the impurities in your body (and living out what felt like the longest 40 minutes of my life), they finally came in to greet us and lead us to an alcove off the main sauna room. Two young men entered and scrubbed our entire bodies and then washed us. The very best part was when they dumped ice cold water on us because it was beginning to feel like I hadn’t seen water in 40 years instead of 40 minutes.

Our hamam visit was quite invigorating and, more importantly, gave us a small perspective of the times past where the hamam was not only a place to get clean but also a central meeting place for socializing. Although it was still pretty awkward at times (with strange, 18-year-old men caressing my body), I was thankful many times that Jeffrey was right near me, because I would have felt super uncomfortable if I’d be all by myself.

Here we are fresh from our baths – wrapped in many towels and donning very small wooden shoes!

 

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Written by mccown @ Weekend Blitz

This entry is part 12 of 13 in the series Turkey/Portugal

We walked across the Golden Horn Bridge one morning after trying to take the tram to the “newer” area of Istanbul, along the European side of the Bosphorus River. No one knew why the tram never arrived, but, later that day, we found out that someone had suicide-bombed a police station, so they had closed all the tram lines as a pre-caution. Yikes.

After walking around the newer area, we headed to Dolmabahçe Palace, Turkey’s largest palace, which is located right on the Bosphorus River and was used as the center of the Ottoman Empire between 1856 – 1922.

It was ordered to be built by the sultan, Abdulmecid I, as his current residence, the medieval Topkapı Palace, wasn’t modern or luxurious enough when compared to European palaces. The palace was home to Turkey’s last six sultans. Although Topkapı Palace is located in the old part of town (where we were staying), Dolmabahçe is in the newer part of Istanbul. The last sultan lost power in 1923 (he chose the wrong side in WWII because he was buddies with Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany), and Ataturk became the Republic of Turkey’s first president. Ataturk lived at Dolmabahçe until his death in 1938, then the palace became a museum.

When we arrived, the entrance line snaked all around the front. It was 40 TL/each for a guided tour of both Selamlik and the Harem. Interestingly, everything is half off for Turkish residents, and all students with an ISIC card pay only 5 TL – impressive savings.

The gardens surrounding the palace are pretty extraordinary and, in fact, that’s what Dolmabahçe translates to in Turkish: “filled-in garden.”

By: JohnPickenPhoto – CC BY 2.0

Given its history, all the furniture looks just like it did in 1930. The palace was pretty similar to most European palaces I’ve visited– larger than life decor in gigantic rooms. Jeffrey suggested that one of the sultans visited Versailles and copied it, with ornate furniture, HUGE crystal chandeliers (the 2nd largest in Europe is housed at Dolmabahçe) and fancy ceilings.

By: borshop – CC BY 2.0

The coolest thing I saw was a gift from Saudi Arabia in the main stairwell: two huge elephant tusks (I didn’t even think elephants were that big) made into candlestick holders. The very fanciest room was the Grand Ceremonial Room, and women weren’t even allowed inside (they could only look through the windows from the top story. Not my idea of fun.

By: JohnPickenPhoto – CC BY 2.0

By: borshop – CC BY 2.0

Visiting Dolmabahçe during our time in Istanbul was one of the best things we while there because it gave us some insight into Turkish culture from years past — and, who doesn’t love googling at humungous chandeliers and over the top elephant tusks?

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