ISTANBUL, Nov 15 — For centuries, hammams were central to Ottoman society, and while they mostly fell out of use with the advent of running water, many in Turkey are being restored to revive an ancient ritual bathing tradition. A mainstay of old Turkish films, hammam scenes were highly entertaining, a free space where women would socialise, eat, drink and even dance. Last year, Istanbul’s 500-year-old Zeyrek Cinili Hammam — built during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent by the celebrated Ottoman architect Sinan — reopened after a painstaking 13-year restoration.
Alongside a functioning hammam, it also houses a museum explaining its history and the Ottoman ritual of bathing. “The restoration somehow turned into an archaeological dig” that gave insight into how the hammam once looked, museum manager Beril Gur Tanyeli told AFP. “Around 3,000 pieces of missing tiles were found which helped solve the puzzle of why this hammam was called Cinili” — Turkish for “covered with tiles”.
The beautiful Iznik tiles that once lined its walls were exclusively produced for the hammam. No other bathhouse had such a rich interior, museum officials say. Although most were damaged by fires or earthquakes, or sold off to European antique dealers in the 19th century, some are still visible.
The restoration also exposed several Byzantine cisterns beneath the hammam. “Sinan the Architect is believed to have built the hammam on top of these cisterns to use them as a foundati.
