Traditional Turkish Bath Rituals

People ask the question of what is used in the Turkish Bath and what are the Hammam rituals as much as they ask for ‘What is Turkish Bath’. The basic principle of the Hammam is cleaning from head to toe. The main ritual is that washing and thoroughly exfoliating your body. There are some types of services such as traditional style, just exfoliating style or other styles which contain massages and facial or body masks. Or you can just take a self-service and you bathe yourself, bring your own soap, shampoo and towel. In self-service you only pat the entrance fee.

In Traditional Style service; a bath attendant will wash and massage you for about 15–20 minutes, and you don’t have to bring any of the equipment.

Other Styles; contain several massage and mask types like oil massage, foam massage, reflexology, body and facial clay masks.

The hammam ritual is start with the relax and rest in the hot room and hot water. Here is the steps of Hammam Ritual;

  • After you changed your clothes and wrap your peştemal to your body, it starts in a humid steam room for softening the body skin and to make easier scrubbing.
  • You should stay 10 to 15 minutes in the hot room.
  • When the skin softens, the dead skin is removed exfoliating it with a kessa glove by Tellak, a bath attendant on the ,göbektaşı, hot chamber.
  • After the body is completely peeling, dead skins are removed with water.
  • Then start the foam massage with a soft pouch the bath attendant lathered you with a sudsy swab.
  • And then the traditional foam massage begins. The body muscles are massaged sometimes hard and sometimes relaxing.
  • In the final, the Tellak rinses you with warm water and all the ritual ends. However, if you want to get a mask, mask is applied to the face and wait for 15 minutes, then washed.
  • After your massage finished, bath attendant takes you to the cooling or intermediate room to cooling down. The cooling place actually in the same place with showers and toilets.
  • You can take a shower, if you want and go to change your clothes.