Suleymaniye hamam
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[edit] Culture Bath
This Turkish Bath consists of three sections. These are as follows in sequence from the entry:
1- Cold section: This is a place where you can change your clothes with your bath towel and also you can drink something, if you wish.
2- Lukewarm section: This section is a place where you can adapt your body to temperature while passing to the hot section in a balanced manner and also you can drink something, if you wish.
3- Hot section: The temperature of this section is approximately 40-60 oC(72-108 F) . If you have any problem with your health, please do not venture yourself. Please inform us about your health conditions. This section is the place where the guests sweep and relax and also where rubbing the body with bath glove, massage and bath takes place.
Since the bath culture may vary from country to country, please change your clothes with bath-towel provided by us in clothes changing cabinets shown by personnel on duty. Please lock the door of your cabinet and the key key with you during bath for safety purpose. Our Turkish bath will not be responsible for the losses from unlocked cabinets.
Personnel on duty provides you with clog for using on wet grounds after you locked the door of the cabinet and took the key with you. Our guests who have never experienced clog before should be careful.
Personnel on duty shows you toilets, lukewarm section after you locked the door of the cabinet and put the clog on and bring you to the hot section of the Turkish Bath.
Our guests sweep and relax in hot section (on central massage platform) for a period varying from 30 minutes to 55 minutes according to their health condition. After your relaxing, the Hamam attendant (masseur) will come and rub your body with bath-glove first and than make massage with soap and bath you in a separate place (halvet section).
[edit] Architect Sinan and Suleymaniye
Sinan is the architect who grew up in one of the most splendid periods of the Ottoman State, and who contributed to this era with his works. In his own words he informs us about his observations:
I saw the monuments, the great ancient remains. From every ruin I learned, from every building I absorbed something.
Various sources state that Sinan was the architect of around 360 structures which included 84 mosques, 51 small mosques ("mescit"), 57 schools of theology ("medrese"), 7 schools for Koran reciters ("darülkurra"), 22 mausoleums ("türbe"), 17 Alm Houses ("imaret"), 3 hospitals ("darüssifa"),7 aquaducts and arches, 48 inns ("Caravansarai"), 35 palaces and mansions, 8 vaults and 46 baths. Sinan, who held the position of chief architect of the palace, which meant being the top manager of construction works of the Ottoman Empire, for nearly 50 years, worked with a large team of assistants consisting of architects and master builders.
The development and maturing stages of Sinan can be marked with three major works. The first two of these are in Istanbul - Sehzade Mosque which he calls his apprenticeship period work, Süleymaniye Mosque which is the work of his qualification stage, and Selimiye Mosque the product of his master stage in Edirne.
Sehzade Mosque is the first of the grand mosques Sinan has created. Mihrimah Sultan Mosque which is also known as the Uskudar Quay Mosque was completed in the same year and has an original design with its main dome supported by three half domes. When Sinan reached the age of 70, he had completed the Süleymaniye Mosque and its Complex. This building, situated on one of the hills of Istanbul facing the Golden Horn, and built in the name of Süleyman the Magnificent between 1550-57, is one of the symbolic monuments of the period.
