Saturday, May 13, 2017

AĞA HAMAMI since 1454

Çukurcuma, Beyoğlu - İstanbul - Turkey

GPS : 41°01'59.1"N 28°58'54.9"E / 41.033083, 28.981917

 photo agahamami_beyoglu101.jpg

PHOTOGRAPHS ALBUM

The Historical Ağa hamamı (turkish bath) was constructed by Fatih Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. Ağa Turkish bath was used as a private hamam by Mehmed the Conqueror and his sons. At that time, Beyoglu District was not a settlement area and the Padishahs would come to Beyoglu District for hunting. Mehmed the Conqueror constructed this building as a hunting house in 1454.

Ağa hamamı was designed as a hamam below the two flats above. It underwent a large-scale renovation in 1844 by Sultan Abdülmecid. It was used by the Sultans and their sons until the final years of the Ottoman Empire.

With the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, the Ottoman Empire ended. In those days a Armenian woman bought the Ağa hamamı (turkish bath) and it first opened to public. She decided sold the Ağa hamamı to Huseyin Yilmaz. Due to his old age, Huseyin Yilmaz sold it to his nephew Ali Yilmaz in May 1974 after thirty four years of operation. The last renovation was in 1986 by Ali Yilmaz. It serves only tourists mixed hamam in istanbul for over ten years.

It is a three-floor building sitting on a 650 sqm of land. The first two floors were built as the house and the entrance floor as the Ağa Hamamı. The exterior and the top of hammam (a skylight dome with round frames) were designed to receive the daylight from sunrise to sunset.

The hammam has a 250 sqm section at the back to heat it. In those years this section was named "kulhan". This building was influenced by the classic era that began at the end of the 15th century. Many buildings that were constructed by Fatih Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror right after the Conquest of Constantinople followed this trend.

The internal structure consists of sections called "soyunmalık, ılıklık and sıcaklık" (changing rooms and the sections for warming up and heating up respectively). Apart from these sections, the installations section takes up a huge room. This section consists of the water reservoir, kulhan and cehennemlik (literally "hell room"). The most voluminous spaces in Ağa Hamamı are usually the changing rooms. The house and the hammam have very high ceilings which extend up to 3.5 meters. High ceilings are the most prominent features of historical buildings.

Cold Halvet (Private Small Room)
It is the first entrance section of the hamam, it is not a very hot section. It is the section used to cool off when it becomes uncomfortably hot for you.

Hot Section (Inside Of Hamam) And Center Stone
This is the section mainly used by tourists. It is the bathing and sweating section. It contains the center stone which is heated from below. You can lie on it and relax.

Hot Halvet
Consists of two small rooms. Only used for bathing. Each room has three kurnas (marble tubs in which hot and cold water from two taps are mixed). It is one of the hottest sections.

Külhan (Furnace)
This is the section from which the hamam is heated. The Ağa hamam has been heated with traditional methods for years. It is heated by wood fire. Woods are lit in the kulhan section and the heat circulates under the hamam. While many hamams in Istanbul are heated with natural gas, the Ağa hamam is heated by wood fire, which allows experiencing a privilege in heat. Heat provided by natural gas can never be the same as that of wood fire.

Entrance
Welcome to Ağa hamamı. Choose the pack you desire at the entrance, go into the room exclusively for you, wrap around your pestemal, lock up your room and go let yourself enjoy the comfort on marble.

Kese (special bath glove)
It is a cleaning method which has been used since the initial years of Ottoman Empire. Your skin gets softer as the result of perspiration in the hamam, with the help of a kese dead skin is removed and skin pores are opened.

Foam Bath
It is a method used to clean the body following the kese process. Leave yourself into the hands of the masseur/masseuse and feel the comfort. Experiencing this feeling at the Aga hamam is a privilege.

Oil Massage
Oil massage is a type of massage known worldwide. It was first applied by the Chinese three thousand years ago. Massage is applied to ease pains, reduce swellings, relax muscles and to accelerate recovery from contraction and sprain resulting from injury. Contrary to popular belief, massage does not prevent weakening of muscle strength. It is a very old method for relaxing and recreation. We offer to you the oil massage with the Turkish bath (hamam) culture.

Face Mask
Ağa Hamamı apply face mask to clean face after Hamam. Skin pores will be clean and open in the hamam. if you get face mask, your face will be soft and cleaner.

Exit
While you exit the hamam, we change your pestemal and towel, then you go into your room and put on your clothes. We also recommend you to let your soul have a rest at our oriental corner with a Turkish tea.

LOCATION SATELLITE MAP



WEB SITE : Ağa Hamamı

MORE INFO & CONTACT
E-Mail : huseyin@agahamami.com
Phone : +90 212 249 5027

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