Hammam experience at Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamman in Istanbul

Yesterday, in Istanbul living a #Travelife, I decided to book a Turkish hammam and massage experience at the new Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamman in Istanbul.

Actually, this is not a new hammam.

The newly opened Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamman in Istanbul is a very old and historical one designed by the famous Ottoman architect Sinnan, and it’s about 400 years old. 

For years this historical hammam lay unrenovated so that tourists just passed it from the outside on their way between the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia or the Topkapi Palace.

Their guides would point out that this beautiful structure was once a historical hammam created nearest the Topkapi Palace and the two mosques by the great architecture Sinnan for Roxelana, a wife of a sultan. 

This is also where the Sultan himself would take his bath. So just think that when you are lying on that great slab of marble under the starry dome of the hammam, that the sultan himself had laid down there before you.

A HISTORICAL HAMMAM EXPERIENCE 

AT THE AYASOFYA HURREM SULTAN HAMMAM 

IN ISTANBUL

Well, recently, this hammam has been renovated with great thought and perhaps even greater cost. It certainly looks impressive.

And hearing that this was now open, I simply had to book the hammam experience at the Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamman in Istanbul here even if I love the hammam experience of the Four Seasons Bosphorus, which we can also use as guests of the Four Seasons Sultanahmet.

The Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamman in Istanbul @travelifemagazine.com

The Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamman in Istanbul is newly renovated and historical. And I like the works of the great Ottoman architect Sinnan.

So I simply had to see this for myself. It’s absolutely beautiful inside and I was only able to sneak in a few photos as photos are not actually allowed, and I could not at all take photos of the hammam itself. But it took my breath away.

PRICES FOR THE HAMMAM EXPERIENCE 

AT THE AYASOFYA HURREM SULTAN HAMMAM 

IN ISTANBUL

The hammam experience at the Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamman in Istanbul is not cheap either.

I booked a treatment for 90 minutes that included the full hammam experience in the historical hammam and a short massage, and it cost me something like 180 euros. That’s about the same price range as a treatment in the best hotel in Istanbul.

The Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamman in Istanbul @travelifemagazine.com

The renovations at Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamman in Istanbul are lovely. The entrance and massage cubicles are all in wood, and the piece de resistance is the marble hammam from 400 years ago, restored so beautifully.

The price range ensures that the Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamman in Istanbul is never full and always well-maintained, which is just fine by me, as it would be a real pity not to maintain this hammam creation by Sinnan in tiptop shape. I think I’ll come back here the next time I’m in Istanbul, which will probably be sooner than later in my never-ending #Travelife.