The public hammam is still a major part of Turkish culture, a spa of sorts for both cleansing and relaxing. Here's a roadmap to enjoying a Turkish bath in the traditional way—and yes, that means naked.

Historians don’t know exactly when people started to bathe indoors. But we do know that the Ottoman Turks inherited the Roman bath concept—architecture and tradition—as it existed in Asia Minor. They adapted it to Turkish tastes, and called it “hammam.” Although modern Turks do most of their showering at home, the public hammam is still a major part of the culture, as much a place about cleansing as it is about relaxing. Here's a roadmap to enjoying a Turkish bath in the traditional way. And yes, that means naked.

Good to know

There are several baths in Istanbul but the oldest and the most popular ones are Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Bath, Cagaloglu, Cemberlitas, Suleymaniye, and Galatasaray Baths. Both Suleymaniye and Galatasaray accept mixed groups of men and women.

What to expect

Female and male sections are separated in traditional hammams. Yet the bathing rituals are similar between the sexes. The hammam experience is about leaving yourself in the hands of your tellak or natir, the male or female attendants respectively, who guide visitors through the progressively warmer sections of the bath.