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By Root 941 0

is dyed the color of her eyes. Her granddaughters are wearing swimsuits, and two little boys in white cotton underpants, who must be brothers or cousins, howl and duck as their mothers try to rinse their soapy heads of shampoo. The teenage girls cast sidelong looks at me, and I close my eyes to give them privacy. They walk over to their grandmother and begin to wash her. I peek. I haven’t ever seen anything like this at home, where we do not touch our mothers’ or grandmothers’ bodies unless they are very ill indeed. There isn’t a hint of embarrassment among any of them as they pour water over her, rubbing her shoulders with a balm that smells of mint, and talk together.

As I leave the room to put on my clothes, Fatma brings me a white bowl filled to the brim with cool water to drink, and it is unbelievably refreshing. Then she lights a cigarette, talks to me in Turkish, sings a snatch of song. About to go, I hand her a small tip. She holds up her hand as a signal for me to wait, rushes to the back closet, and fetches a cucumber, which she peels and hands to me. I give her a kiss on both cheeks and say the one phrase in Turkish that I know, “Teşekkür ederim, cok teşekkür,” which just means “Thank you.”

But as soon as I return to Bebek, the village on the Bosporus where Boğaziçi University is set, I enter Türkü, a tiny shop filled with exquisite gifts. I find there a small, oval, lidded soap dish from the nineteenth century, of copper lined in tin. It’s called a hamam sabunluk, and women used to carry them into the baths with their soaps and powders and pumice kept dry inside. And I think my mother will fancy it. At home in Michigan I tell her my story of the baths of Istanbul. She asks, “Is it safe? Is it clean? Do the women really have all their clothes off?” I suddenly remember another phrase I learned from a young Turkish woman: “Eski hamam, eski tas,” which means, “Same old hamam, same old cup,” or, things are always the same.

COMING CLEAN

Cağaloğlu Hamami (Kazim Ismail Gürkan Caddesi 34 / +90 212 522 2424 / cagalogluhamami.com.tr) is almost adjacent to the Hagia Sophia. Both the men’s and the women’s baths are open daily.

Çemberlitaş Hamami (Vezirhan Caddesi 8 / +90 212 522 7974 / cemberlitashamami.com.tr) is off Divan Yolu near the Grand Bazaar.

Galatasaray Hamami (Turnacıbaşı Sokak 24 / women +90 212 249 4342; men +90 212 252 4242 / galatasarayhamami.com) is near Galatasaray Square in the Beyoğlu district. The men’s and women’s baths are open daily.

Mihrimah Sultan Cami (Fevzi Paşa Caddesi 333 / +90 212 523 0487) is in the Edirnekapı district. The bath is open daily and there is no women’s bath.

Cinili Hamam (İtfaiye Caddesi 49 / +90 212 631 8883) is in Zeyrek, near the Church of the Pantocrator and the Aqueduct of Valens. The men’s and women’s baths are open daily.

Türkü (Cevdetpaşa Caddesi 226 / +90 212 265 2991), in Bebek, sells traditional Anatolian women’s dresses, silver accessories, ceramic objets d’art, calligraphy, and books.

In addition to descriptions and advice about the hamam in guidebooks and other accounts, I will share a few tips of my own:

All, or almost all, hamams have lockers for your clothes and belongings, including your valuables. If you’re uncomfortable about leaving your valuables behind (though I have not heard of anything being stolen at a hamam), bring along only what you really need and put it in a very small plastic or waterproof bag. It’s water, water everywhere inside the hamam, as well as steam, so anything that can get wet will.

Don’t show up at a hamam without small bills and coins. Even if you’re staying at a luxury hotel and are charging the fee to your bill, you will need cash for a tip. Do not expect the hamam attendants to have change for large bills.

It’s useful to decide what tip you want to give before the end of your session so you can hand it to the attendant unhesitatingly, with a smile, and with a confidence that says, “Here is your tip. It is not negotiable.” If you waver, you are opening the door to frowns and cries of protest, perhaps worse.