Hamam basics
Inside a Turkish Hamam: Every Step, in Order
The sequence of a Turkish bath is old and simple, and knowing it in advance takes away the one thing that makes first-timers hesitate: not knowing what comes next. Here it is, from your hotel door and back again.
Updated
In short
A Turkish hamam runs in a set order: you warm up in the heat, an attendant scrubs you with the kese, you are washed in soap foam, and you are rinsed. In our Alanya programme you start in the sauna and steam room, move on to the kese and the foam, and then have roughly 20 minutes of massage with aromatic oil and a pause to relax — with the hotel transfer both ways. Plan on roughly 2 to 3 hours away from your hotel.
1. The pickup
It starts at your hotel. Your pickup time is confirmed after you book — it depends on your hotel, the hamam that serves your area and the day's route — and a driver collects you from there.
2. Arriving at the hamam
You are driven to whichever hamam serves your hotel's area. At check-in you hear how the session runs; then you put on your swimwear and receive a towel, a peştemal wrap and slippers.
3. Sauna and steam
First, warmth: time in sauna and steam room, letting the heat settle in. It's the part not to rush: the scrub that follows is best once you're properly warm.
4. The kese
With the kese, a coarse mitt, an attendant scrubs you all over. It is firm by design; if you'd like it lighter, just say so. What kese is.
5. The foam
Then the foam: soap foam piled over you and pressed in with the palms, which is the foam wash and foam massage. More about the foam.
6. The basic oil massage
Next comes the oil massage that the basic programme includes: aromatic oil, around 20 minutes. A massage upgrade, if you've booked one, is part of your programme too — the hamam arranges it on the day. Which massage to choose.
7. Time to relax, and back to your hotel
Then a pause: a chance to rest and cool off, for as long as the hamam's programme allows. After it, your driver takes you back to your hotel.
How long it all takes
Roughly 2 to 3 hours away from your hotel, transfers included. Of the stages inside, only the basic oil massage has a stated length — about 20 minutes; the timing of the others can vary slightly between hamam locations, and so can the exact order.