On my list of “must-do” things while in Turkey was making a visit to a hamam.  The hamam is a public bathhouse and is a tradition in Turkey.  Before they had modern bathrooms in their own homes, Turks would come here to get clean.  And with socially restricted lives, the domain of the hamam was one of the few place where 19th-century Turkish women could let loose.  Hamams are still popular among locals and foreigners.  Jen and I went late one evening not sure of what to expect…

Jen opted for the basic “self-service” option, while I splurged and paid for the chance to have someone else scrub me down.  We entered the changing area and an attendant handed us each a pair of very large, black grandma panties, which immediately set us into giggles.  We then wrapped our almost-naked selves in towels and then entered the steam room.   We laid on the huge marble slab in the centre of the room uncertain of what to do next.  There were a number of small washing rooms off the main room, and after steaming for awhile, Jen tried to enter one of the rooms to wash but a very large naked Turkish woman yelled something indecipherable at her so Jen went elsewhere.  My friend was very confused and a bit frightened, I think.  An old woman with breasts sagging down to her hips came over to scrub me down…thankfully she put her bikini top back on before she started.  She proceeded to scrub me from head to toe with what I suspect was detergent…there was a bit of massage thrown in the there and then she washed my hair for me.  It was a pretty interesting experience and like most things, I just went with it.  After you’re finished steaming and washing, there’s a lounge area where you can hang out and drink tea.  I loved the experience and pure laziness of having someone else scrub me, but it’s not something I would pay for on the regular.  But it’s like Turkish delight…you can’t come all the way to Turkey and not try the Turkish bath.  And there’s no cameras allowed in the hamam, so unfortunately this is the only shot we snuck in the dressing room:

On two hours sleep and crunched in between two long bus rides we visited the strange geological site of Pamukkale in south-western Turkey.  The name Pamukkale means “cotton castle” in Turkish, as the ancient city of Hierapolis was built on top of these weird white formations.  There are some ruins on the way, but the real attraction here is the hot springs.  The 17 springs in the area have temperatures which vary between 35°C and 100°C.  When the water, which is supersaturated with calcium carbonate, reaches the surface, carbon dioxide is released and the calcium carbonate is deposited as a soft jelly, which eventually hardens into a solid.  These deposits, or travertines, create terraces from the flowing water.  It’s quite stunning and actually looks a bit like snow.  But perhaps the most entertaining part of the experience was the glamour shot photo shoots that were going on – guys in speedos telling their bikini-clad girlfriends to “look sexy”.  Okay….

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One of my first things I did in Istanbul was visit Topkapi Palace.  This is the place where the Ottoman Sultans lived from 1465 to 1853, after which they moved to Dolmabahçe Palace, which at the time was considered more stylish and opulent (which is hard to imagine after seeing the lavishness of Topkapi).  At its peak, Topkapi Palace was home to over 4000 people.  Residents rarely had to venture out as the palace was essentially a city within a city, housing a hospital, schools, mosques, horse stables, libraries, a mint, a treasury, giant kitchens to feed its inhabitants, and even a Circumcision Room for the young princes (a Muslim rite of passage).  There was also the infamous Harem, where along with the Sultan’s mother, wives and children lived his concubines – up to 800 at any given time.  Today the palace contains holy Muslim relics, examples of Ottoman arms, portraits of the Sultans and Ottoman art, some amazing tilework and a collection of jewels, heirlooms and spoils of war that made me wish I had been born into a royal family.  It seemed everything was gold and encrusted with emeralds, rubies, and pearls.  They really knew how to live back then.

The imposing front gates of the Palace.

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