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Turkish bath in Istanbul
The
Suleymaniye Hamam
is a historic
Turkish bath
(
hamam
) in
Istanbul
, Turkey, that forms part of the
Suleymaniye Mosque
complex. The building, on a hill facing the
Golden Horn
, was built in 1557 by Turkish architect,
Mimar Sinan
, and was named for his patron,
Suleyman the Magnificent
, who had commissioned it. It was sometimes called the 'metalworkers' bath' because many workers from the nearby foundries used to frequent it.
[1]
The building is arched and domed, with elaborate marble inlay on the walls. The Sulemaniye Hamam is a traditional bathhouse consisting of three sections: cold, lukewarm and hot. Temperatures in the hot section can reach 40?60 °C (104?140 °F) degrees. A private cubicle said to have been used by Sinan when he lived near the mosque complex from 1557 to 1588 is still preserved. Another private cubicle reserved for the sultan was later used for high-ranking theological scholars.
[1]
Contemporary use
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]
In 2001, the
hamam
was restored to cater for tourists.
[2]
It is the only
hamam
in Istanbul where men and women bathe together, something that would never have happened in the past. Male attendants, called
tellak
, look after all the clients,
[3]
again something that would never have happened in the past.
References
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]
External links
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41°00′57″N
28°57′57″E
/
41.0159°N 28.9658°E
/
41.0159; 28.9658