It's All So Turkish!: The historical Cagaloglu Hammam

The Cagaloglu hammam (Cağaloğlu Hamamı) is one of the oldest and most famous hammams in Istanbul. This hammam is more than 300 years old and is considered as one of the oldest hammams in Istanbul with its almost completely preserved traditional hammam architecture. It has seperate parts for men and women. The Cağaloğlu hamamı also has a cute restaurant cafe in the garden. A very cozy atmosphere and you can sit, eat and drink there even if you didn't enter the bath. Also I must say that they have very hospitable people working there.

History of the Cağaloğlu Hammam

The Cağaloğlu hamam was constructed in 1741 and is the last hamam to be built after a long period during the Ottoman Empire. When we take a look at the names of the head architects of that time we can say that it was begun by Süleyman Ağa finished by Abdullah Ağa. It is the last example of its kind to be built in İstanbul and is a successful hamam that is still operational in our time. The door of the women’s section is on a side street called Hamam while the mens' entrance is from the main road (Yerebatan Caddesi) with two marble columns with classic stalactite capitals on both sides.

King Edward John VIII, Kaiser Wilhelm, Franz Liszt and Florance Nightingale have all been here for a royal experience. Besides today's well known personalities King Fahd, Rockefeller, Tony Curtis, Richard Harrison came to Cagaloglu Hamami during their visit to Istanbul. In this excellent three hundred year old Turkish bathing temple one hundred and thirtyeight TV films have been shot. Six of them were productions for German TV. Seven of them were Thematic Films (Indiana Jones) and one of them a commercial for visa card. The world press has written about the wonderful arthitecture many time. Four times in the New York Times and Three Times in the pages of Geo. The press has much praised this bathing maabit.
There is Mikveh for Jewish ladies.

You can get extra information and see photographs of the interior of the Cağaloğlu hammam from its official website.

Visiting the Cağaloğlu Hammam today

The Cağaloğlu hammam is open everyday including sunday. There are seperate parts for men and women: its open for men everyday from 08.00 am to 10.00 pm and for women from 08.00 am to 08.00 pm.

Prices can vary, because there are different packages you can choose from but they are very affordable, especially when you compare it with the delightful and freshening experience you live in a traditional hammam.

The Cağaloğlu Hammam (8) is a short walk away from the famous Sultanahmet Square on Yerebatan Caddesi on the cross pavement of the Iranian Consulate. As you can see on the map above it is also very near to the Grand Bazaar - Kapalı Çarşı (1) and Topkapı Sarayı (6).

Address: Kazim Ismail Gurkan Caddesi, number 34, Cağaloğlu, İstanbul.

Phone number: +90 (212) 522 24 24

mail address: info@cagalogluhamami.com.tr

For more information and personal experiences of foreigners of the Cağaloğlu hammam and Turkish hammams in general, I found these great sites, I'm sure they will give you a much more thorough idea:

* CyberBohemia.com: Visiting the Modern Hammam in Istanbul and Ankara
* TripAdvisor.com: My Favorite Place in Istanbul- Cagaloglu Hammam
* It's All So Turkish!: Famous Hammams To Visit in Turkey

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