I read so many Turkish bath naked horror stories online from other travel bloggers that my curiosity got sufficiently piqued: I just had to volunteer myself on the naked altar of the body scrub sacrifice for the greater good of this blog (I know, tough…) – a rather painful and awkward experience by many if not all accounts, and see what this Turkish hammam nude experience was all about and if it was worth a good story.

Tales of hammam naked merciless scrubs in crowded rooms, with nude masseuses getting to second base with prude North Americans had me sort of worried as I stepped inside Kiliç Ali Paşa Hamamiin in Istanbul, not really knowing if the tales were true. Thankfully, I quickly learned that the naked Turkish bath experience can be a blissful, relaxing, and absolutely beautiful one.
Without further ado, here’s how I found myself in a traditional Turkish bath naked with a bunch of other naked women and their wobbly bits from all over the world in the center of Istanbul for my first hammam experience. Amongst many great things to do in Istanbul, visiting a naked hammam is something you should not miss.
Visiting a Hammam Nude: My Experience
Traditionally, hammams are annexed to mosques for people to perform ablution, or cleansing, before entering the prayer hall, so don’t be surprised when the place you enter in the nude to be scrubbed off my sins and dead skin looks more like a place of worship than a spa. And in some ways, The Turkish bath nude experience IS a place of worship – being scrubbed and washed under these gorgeous domes where light softly filters through star-shaped cutouts and where the only noise to be heard is the echo of running water with dozens of gorgeous ladies of all sizes – all of us naked – felt like nothing short of a sacred ritual, a worship of the body of sorts. And it was blissful.
After entering Kiliç Ali Paşa and filling all the mandatory paperwork, I am served a chilled glass of sherbet, a traditional Turkish beverage made of fruits and flower petals, and am left to admire the glorious hall’s main dome and take in the mystical environment while sipping on the delicious sweet drink. Then, an attendant comes and hands me a peştamal (the classic cotton Turkish towel) and gives me all of the required instructions on how to get ready for my hammam nude experience and how my treatment is going to take place, so there is no room for awkward guessing moments, which I am thankful for. She also tells me to keep my bikini bottom on, which appeases my inner North American prudeness, ahem, privacy policy. So off to the changing room I go.
The time has come and I enter the Turkish bath naked with only my peştamal (a beautiful Turkish towel, make sure you bring some home!) securely wrapped around my naked body only to get it whisked right off of me by one of the thankfully not-naked hammam lady. After being drenched in warm water from head to toe, I am instructed to join a bunch of women of all shapes already lying down on the heated marble slab at the center of the steamy room. It instantly warms me up and relaxes me.
I take advantage of lying in the Turkish bath nude to peek around and see how the treatment is being performed. I see beautiful naked bodies of all shapes and sizes being scrubbed and massaged under mountains of soap suds. It is a wonderfully peaceful and soothing ambiance and the only voices are from the attendants calling us all “lady”, which I love.

Finally, it is my turn to be taken away from the hot marble slab and, after guzzling down a huge glass of cold water, I am taken to my washing station and instructed to sit down next to the tap my natir (my also nude hammam attendant) will be using to, in turn: scrub me with a mitt, massage me, and wash me with a ridiculous amount of suds she produced by soaking a pillowcase in soapy water, filling it with air to create bubbles and pouring it all over my body after the body scrubs are over. It is so silky and feels truly cleansing.
Then, she asks if I’d like her to wash my hair (duh!), rinses me thoroughly, returns me to the marble slab for a little extra hammam nude relaxation, and finally calls me (lady!) to follow her to the room next door were she dries me and wraps me in a million towels. It feels intimate, almost motherly, and I loved every minute of it. After this, she escorts me back to the main hall where it all started and I am handed a refreshing face towel and ordered to just lay down and relax until my massage therapist comes to get me.
The massage is gentle and the attendant first puts a big fluffy blanket over my body and gently rubs me up and down over the blanket. For some reason, this soothing motion brings tears to my eyes. It’s so comforting and exactly what I needed after leaving South East Asia just a few days prior and feeling a bit lost entering the Western world again. I kind of wished she’d done only that, or even better hugged me, but the massage was very pleasant nonetheless. A lot more gentle than what I have grown accustomed to in Thailand that’s for sure!
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and I am ultimately returned to my locker to get dressed. Unlike some of the horrifying tales I have read online, I feel serene, relaxed, cleansed and my skin feels amazing. I would go to a naked Turkish bath every damn day if I could! It’s such a beautiful ritual and tradition and I urge you to try one if you visit Turkey.
So that’s my nude hammam experience done and dusted! I leave my rejuvenating experience with a positive body image, silky soft skin, and hoping this would be a weekly ritual. Have you been to a nude Turkish bath or an authentic hammam? Were there a lot of naked people? How was your first time? Was it a local hammam and an authentic experience or a touristy thing?
Many thanks to Kılıç Ali Paşa Hamami for having me. As always, all hammam nude opinions all my nude own 😉
Related
15 Comments
Add comment Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
[…] Whatever you do and however long you stay, absolutely plan a couple of hours to visit a traditional Turkish hammam. You’ll strip naked, lay down on a hot slab of marble for a while then get scrubbed, washed and massaged under a mountain of suds. It is truly heavenly and such a unique experience. I visited Kılıç Ali Paşa Hamami and it is a gorgeous place with amazing service that I can’t recommend them enough. You can read my full review here. […]
sounds like a unique once in a life time experience
I’ve experienced a Turkish Hammam in Cappadocia and once I got over the initial naked-awkwardness, I really enjoyed the experience. I don’t think I’ve ever felt that clean in my life.
This sounds so wonderful, I definitely want to try it out when I’m traveling to Turkey. This is actually the first hammam story I’ve read, so I’m glad you had a good experience – more encouraging to try it out myself.
I have read mixed reviews about a Hammam but I think its best I try one for myself to really find out how it is. In this article, it felt really relaxing 🙂
yes, it was!! 🙂
I had a very different experience in Istanbul at the Hammam we went to. First, we actually were required to keep bathing suits on (which is surprising for Europe). Second, there was no “relaxing” part of it. There were four of us and we all felt like we got beat up from our massages!!! It was a blast though and quite the experience; I’d do it again anytime!
haha, yes, that sounds more like what I had read from other bloggers!
It sounds like you had a lovely experience! We recently went to japan and had to ‘get naked’ to use the onsen hot springs (which are also gender segregated). My children found it a bit confronting but it was also a great experience!
Oh yeah! I would love to try those!!!
I take it that men will be in another room. That must have been one gifted masseuse to move you to tears. Only did a couple massages, but nothing as interesting as this one.
Yes! In fact, women go in the morning and men in the afternoon 🙂
I haven’t been to one but this experience sounds wonderful! I love how you describe it as ‘almost motherly’ – that’s exactly how it sounds! Would love to visit one like this one day.
I’m glad that you had a great experience! From the pictures, it does look like it was a very luxurious hammam though. The hammam experience I got when I was in Marocco in a local bathhouse didn’t include this kind of luxury environment and was a lot more basic. Still it’s relaxing (after the scrubbing part anyway) and definitely recommended.
This sounds like such a wonderful experience – like a big hug inside and out! I can only imagine how great it would feel to get layers of dirt off after all the stresses of the road.