Çinili Turkish Bath – Istanbul

Never been to a Turkish Bath? Have no idea what it’s all about? Make sure to check out the History of Turkish Bath or our guide explaining just what goes on at a Turkish Bath before visiting!

Name of Hamam: Çinili Hamam

Date Built: 1640

Traditional style: Yes

Date of Visit: November 25 2017

Location: Üsküdar, on the corner of Çinili Hamam Sokak and Çavuşdere Caddesi

Price (in Lira): 25/12/11 (hamam entry/scrub/massage)

Tip Expected: Yes

Drinks: Yes     Free:  No

There is a section for both Men and Women.

Rated for: Men

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Final Score: 39.5/50 (79%)

Overall a great hamam with great esthetics, great staff, and solid amenities. If you don’t care about the above-mentioned change room doors then you should consider this hamam to have a higher score than we gave it here. All in all this is one that we would recommend for being truly authentic, a great experience, and clean.

 

Score Breakdown

Length of stay: 3.5

Note: The staff rushed us a bit into the scrub and massage though no more than is usual. We could go back into the hamam after the fact, so it wasn’t a big issue.

 

Change room: 4

Note: Small and with un-fogged glass which doesn’t do much for privacy but is all pretty normal. Everything was super fresh and clean.

 

Common room: 3.5

Note: The common room at Çinili Hamam is quite nice. The style is traditional and has a nice marble fountain in the middle. It loses points for not being a proper common room as it doesnt have chairs to hang around in after the fact.

 

Hamam Features: 4

Note: Çinili Hamam has all the most important elements of a good hamam; sauna, hot slab, and a main hot room with smaller rooms in it.

 

Hamam esthetics: 4

Note: Çinili Hamam is a traditional style hamam and any restoration work doesnt stand out too much. As with a building this age full of hot wet air there is the issue of keeping white paint white and a bit of peeling plaster. All in all the atmosphere is very nice.

 

Cleanliness: 4

Note: Overall quite clean  and well looked after. The sheets and towels felt like they had never been used.

 

Heat: 4

Note: This was tough because the slab, sauna, and water temperatures were well above average but the main room was a bit cooler than it should have been. But this may have been due to the fact that it was November and it was a cold outside making it harder to maintain a good temperature when there’s no guests.

 

Smell: 3.5

Note: It’s asking a lot of 400 year old plumbing to smell fresh. The change rooms, common room, and hamam all smell fresh. However, going from the common room to the hamam you will pass through a small room with bathrooms off of it and it smells pretty terrible. While all the important areas smelled fresh and non-musty, this one room is where it lost some points.

 

Quality of Scrub/Massage: 4.5

Note: The scrub quality here was quite good. It was done on the hot slab rather than in a separate room which is, in my opinion, usually better.

 

Staff: 4.5

Note: The staff was great. We brought some people who had never been to a hamam and I told them to go really hard on them and yell lots. They very much obliged and it was hilarious. I ate bubbles because I was laughing so hard and how they were yelling in a ridiculous growly voice and slapping backs loudly at every opportunity. They were friendly, and, when we said we wanted to wait a little longer before starting the scrub and massage, they were willing to wait.

 

Never been to a Turkish Bath? Check out the History of Turkish Baths here or our article explaining just what goes on at a Turkish Bath here!

Have any tips or info to add? Spot any mistakes? We’d love to hear about it.