Gay sauna istanbul turkey
Aquarius Istanbul - Queer friendly Turkish hammam/ sauna
Aquarius Istanbul - Gay amiable Turkish hammam/ sauna
It was a chilly gray afternoon in Istanbul’s Çukurcuma neighborhood
famous for both its numerous antique shops and the setting for Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk’s novel and namesake Museum of Innocence. I came to Çukurcuma to visit the Museum, only to realize that it was closed because it was Monday.
So I decided to walk down the steep narrow streets of the neighborhood and see what I could locate. I passed shop after shop of antique stores, some of them shuttered behind rusty doors, others hemorrhaging hand-crafted chairs, dusty crystalware, and other items that could be found in your grandmother’s living room.
Woodsmoke puffed out of a nearby chimney, wafting seamlessly into the sky above. I walked by a small tearoom with low chairs and tables, their patrons drinking from short glasses filled with saccharine amber tea.
At the finish of the road was a hammam–a Turkish bath. It was chilly and I wanted to warm up, so I stepped in without any hesitation. The lobby was a simple wood-paneled room; a adolescent man with a short beard sat at the desk. I paid roughly $15 for a private “cabin” to change into.
Before I had made it more than three steps towards
Aquarius Sauna
Appealing Place friendly staff - no time limit to endure
Well, in Turkey I was in three Hamams. One in Alanya (not gay), good scrubbing and good massage; very tiny place. - And another one in Istanbul Cihangir - terrible!! - And the prices of Firuzaga are outrageous high--- Ok, concerning to my choices... the Aquarius was the best place. They have a dry sauna, showers, a nice cold swimming pool, a little jacuzzi, a gym room (!) and a lounge area to sit... and of course some massage rooms. Well the scrubbing and the massage was ok; unfortunately I pinched rib, because the marble, on which I lied, was too hard. Yes, the entrance is 60 TL... but then you are free to manual a massage or more or not. Well, some men (staff) want to sell you massages and more... but you accomplish not have to. Better you asked for the prices, before you get a cold shower because of unexpected amount. I liked, that you can wait as long as you prefer - no time limit! [in Alanyahamam and in Firuzaga ther is a short time limit !!] Surley in Turkey the hamams and saunas are not the same as in Europe. That is good to realize ok, but for me not so important. I was there on 20-07-2019, Saturday
Five Hammams in 24 Hours
A waterlogged Canadian takes a very specific tour of Istanbul.
I spent five days in Turkey a few weeks before the referendum, wandering through the city under posters and massive banners of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. But at the time, I wasn’t focused on politics: I was interested in the hammams, or Turkish baths.
The history of public baths in the West stretches at least as far back as the Spartans, who first used spicy stones and then coal fires to turn the train of leaping into ice-cold water into something a tiny more luxurious. Fancy so many Greek innovations, the Romans tweaked and expanded and perfected the practice. Thermae, as the bathing was known, were a secular ritual the remained at the heart of Roman culture for a thousand years.
Nowhere has that tradition survived more than in Turkey. In Istanbul, in particular, the custom of bathing blended with the grand Roman and then Ottoman tradition of great people building public works and wudu, the Islamic practice of washing before prayer, created marvelous common baths that were not only core to the lives of those who lived there but also an inherent experience for visitors.
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