Who Are The Turks?

                            Turkish Peoples and Countries on World             

      

The simplest questions can be the most difficult to answer. The Turks are obviously a people separate from other peoples, but a people can be defined in many ways -- language, religion, cultural traits, citizenship, loyalty to a ruling house or many other feelings of kinship. The Turks of today are citizens of the Turkish Republic. The name Turk is also used to describe the people in Turkey who share the distinctive Turkish culture, especially the Turkish language, which all Turkish citizens do not share, no more than all Americans speak English. Or a Turk can also mean a member of the great linguistic and cultural family of the Turks, a family that stretches from China to Europe, bound together by language and history. The best way to define the Turks may be to consider which people make up the Turks of Turkey and how they defined themselves politically, first as subjects of the Ottoman Empire, then as citizens of the Turkish Republic.

The original speakers of the Turkish language lived in Central Asia. They roamed as nomads over a vast region that today lies in Siberia, Western China, and Kazakhstan and other ex-Republics of the U.S.S.R. They were known at an early time to both the Chinese and the Middle Eastern Persians and Arabs, but they first appeared in the Middle East in large numbers, as nomadic soldiers, in the tenth century. Finding the Middle East more pleasant than the cold steppes of Central Asia, they remained.

The Turks had converted to Islam while in Central Asia. Although some of the Turks in history had been Christians and Jews, Islam became the religion of the vast majority and remains so today.

The Turkish nomads expanded westward under the leadership of the Seljuk family of sultans. The Seljuks quickly took Iran and Iraq, capturing Baghdad, the capital of the old Abbasid Empire, in 1055. Their forces were unlike what is ordinarily thought of as an army. The first Seljuk troops were nomads who brought all their lives with them -- families, dwellings (tents), animals and belongings. They were at home wherever the pastures were good for their sheep. Relatively soon after their arrival so many Turks had come that the region to the southwest of the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, was Turkish. Large groups of Turks were also spread over other regions of Iran and Iraq.

The nomads did not stop once Iran and Iraq were conquered. They were soon raiding into the Byzantine Empire, which lay to the west of Iran, in Anatolia. In 1071, the Byzantine defeat to the Seljuks in a great battle at Manzikert opened Anatolia to Turkish settlement. Over the next two hundred years the nomads kept moving into Anatolia in great numbers. Although the Turks themselves did not use the term, Anatolia had become Turkey. Many other peoples remained there. Greeks, Kurds, Armenians, and others shared the land, and many of them adopted the Turkish language, converted to Islam (forced conversion was almost unknown), and became Turks themselves. Because the Turks had no concept of "race" that would exclude anyone, they accepted those who wished to be Turks as Turks. The Turkish people were thus made up of the descendants of the Turks of Central Asia and those who had become Turks.

Nineteenth and early twentieth century refugees added to the numbers of Turks in Anatolia. In the time of the Ottoman Empire, Turkish population had spread throughout the Balkans. The descendants of these Turks lived for five hundred years in the areas that are today Bulgaria, Greece and other countries of Southeastern Europe. Large numbers of these Turks were either killed or exiled when the countries rebelled against the Ottoman Empire and became independent. Russian invasions of the Ottoman Balkans and the creation of new Balkan states resulted in the expulsion of more than a million Turks. The exiles eventually settled in Anatolia and Eastern Thrace.

The Russians were also responsible for the immigration of more than two million Turks and other Muslims from the Crimea and the Caucasus Region. Both regions were overwhelmingly Muslim in population.

The Crimean Tatars were Turkish-speakers who had lived in the Crimea for centuries. The Caucasians, primarily the peoples known as Circassians, Abkhazians, and Laz, were not Turks, but were Muslim peoples who had lived on their lands since the beginning of history. All the groups were forced to flee their homelands by Russian armies or laws. They too came to what today is the Turkish Republic.

From 1800 to the 1920s more than three million refugees came to what today is Turkey. Many of the immigrants were already Turks in culture and language. Others, such as the Circassians and Abkhazians, kept many of their ethnic traditions, but became Turkish in language and loyalty. The ethnic Turks of modern Turkey thus came from Central Asia many centuries ago. A number are also descendants of peoples whose ancestors were Hittites, Phrygians, or other early peoples of Anatolia. Others descend from the peoples exiled from their homes by Russians and others taken in by the Turks of Turkey.

Peoples are often defined by the unique states to which they belong. This is especially true of the Turks, who were tied to one of the greatest empires of history, then to one of the first successful "developing" countries of the modern world.

Partly because the poetry, art, and other aspects of the Turkish character are little known to the West, Europeans and Americans have usually thought of Turks as soldiers and administrators. While there is much more than this to the Turks, it is true that Turks rank among history's great empire-builders and rulers. Under the Ottomans they conquered vast territories in the Balkans and the Middle East and ruled for six hundred years. The Ottoman Empire was founded at the end of the thirteenth century by a Turkish military leader, Osman, and his son Orhan. They and their successors conquered in Europe, Asia, and Africa. One sultan, Selim I, took all of what today is Egypt, Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon in one campaign. His son, Suleyman the Magnificent, expanded the empire by taking Iraq and Hungary. When Suleyman died in 1566 the Ottoman Empire stretched from the borders of Poland in the North to Yemen in the South and from near Venice in the West to Iran in the East. For centuries, the Ottoman Empire was the primary homeland of the Turks.

The Ottoman Turkish administrative genius lay in retaining and governing what they had conquered. The survival of any government for six centuries is in itself a testimony to greatness. The Turks proved to be adaptable to new circumstances. They managed to turn their system from a nomadic state whose members were more naturally wanderers than statesmen to a settled empire with laws, land registers, taxation systems, and economic might. Their system was not without troubles, but revolts and sometimes poor politicians could not bring it down. The state was based on tolerance of differences among its subjects. Christians and Jews were allowed to keep their religious practices and their means of gaining a livelihood. This was good for the Ottomans, because satisfied subjects did not rebel. It was also good for the subjects.

Tolerance and administrative ability were not enough for the Empire to last forever. In the 1600s and 1700s the Ottoman central government weakened just as European power immensely increased. The Europeans were translating the benefits of the Renaissance, the Scientific Revolution, and the discovery of the Americas into military and economic advantage. Europeans began to dismantle the Empire , taking Ottoman lands for themselves, causing the great exile of Turks and other Muslims mentioned above. Ethnic and religious groups, such as the Bulgarians and Greeks, became affected by European ideas of nationalism. In the nineteenth century they revolted and created their own nation states, once again expelling many of the Turks who lived within their new borders.

As the Ottoman Empire compressed, the Turks also began to develop a national consciousness. Driven into Anatolia, the Turkish exiles and the Turks of Anatolia began a slow process of thinking of themselves not only as a religious group, Muslim, or the mainstay of an empire, Ottoman, but as the Turkish People. Turkish philosophers and politicians called upon the Turks to think of themselves as a nation.

The ultimate push toward Turkish nationhood came after World War I. Following Ottoman defeat in the war, the Arab and Muslim provinces had been stripped from the Empire. Anatolia, Istanbul, and a small portion of Europe were all that was left to the Turks. Then, in 1919, Anatolia was also invaded. Aided by Britain, France, and Italy, the Greek army landed and took control of Western Anatolia and Eastern Thrace. The European Allies took Istanbul themselves. Many Turks already had been driven from both Europe and Asia into Anatolia, and Anatolia seemed about to be lost also. Drawing on their old military skills, the Turks organized to save what remained. They rallied under the leadership of General Mustafa Kemal, defeated the Greeks, and created a new state, the Turkish Republic, in Anatolia and Eastern Thrace.

The identity of the modern Turks was forged in the Turkish Republic under the tutelage of Mustafa Kemal, who became the first president of the Republic. Once again the Turks proved adaptable to change.

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Mustafa Kemal devised political, economic, and social reforms that would bring Turkey into the modern world. Radical change was legislated covering most facets of life. Soon after the founding of the Republic, Turkey became a secular state. Islam remained the religion of most of the people, but the state was not religious. Other changes followed quickly: The veil and the fez were banned and Western styles of clothing appeared. Women were given the vote and elected to parliament. The Turkish language began to be written in Western characters, not the Arabic letters used previously. Laws were based on Western legal codes. Schools followed Western models. In short, Turkey became rapidly Westernized under Mustafa Kemal. As a symbol of change, Mustafa Kemal's government required all Turks to change the habits of centuries and adopt family names, as in the West. Mustafa Kemal himself took Ataturk ("Father Turk") as his surname. An entire culture began to be altered. Nevertheless, study of the history and traditions of the Central Asian Turkish ancestors of the Turks of Turkey was stressed, as well.

Why follow the ways of Europe and America? Ataturk and the Turkish reformers felt that Western ways could not be adopted piecemeal. They believed that copying the industries and economies of the West was not possible unless one also accepted Western schools, business practices, and social customs. It was the whole of the Western culture that allowed Europe to develop economically, Ataturk felt, and he wanted his country to develop, so the country had to Westernize. Accepting the ways of the West meant accepting democracy. Ataturk kept authority in his own hands, but he deliberately schooled the people in the forms and ideas of a democratic society. In the 1950s the Turks created a real democracy which, despite some obstacles, continues to this day.

Westernization is another facet of the Turkish makeup. While some Turks would prefer to go back to old ways, the country as a whole has been committed since the time of Atatfirk in the model of the West. Turkey has been a full member of NATO since 1952 and an ally of Europe and America in the Gulf War with Iraq.

Who are the-Turks? They are the descendants of the nomads from Central Asia and the refugees from the Balkans and the Caucasus, brought together in the Turkish Republic. Most of the Turks are Muslims, following the prayers of Islam in the mosque, but living in a secular state. They are also the inheritors of the governmental traditions of the Ottoman Empire and the democracy of Ataturk and the West.

The citizens of today's Turkey do not come from one ethnic group, no more than do the citizens of the United States. As in the United States, the ancestors of today's Turkish citizens come from many different places and many different cultures. The majority are ethnically Turkish. That is, they speak Turkish at home and feel themselves to be a part of the great ethnic tradition that goes back to Central Asia. Some others are "Turks by adoption." They speak Turkish as their first language, but their ancestors came to Turkey, primarily in the nineteenth century, speaking other languages. Others are Turkish citizens but do not speak Turkish at home. This too is similar to the United States.

Of those who are Turks by adoption, the majority are the descendants of refugees from the Caucasus and the Balkans. The refugees were driven from their homes by Russian and Balkan armies and settled in what today is Turkey. Peoples such as the Circassians and the Laz have kept some of the folk traditions from their old homeland. However, they seldom speak the old languages. They have become part of the Turkish "melting pot."

The largest concentration group of non-Turkish speakers, the Kurds, is centered in Southeastern Anatolia. Other Kurdish-speakers live in Iraq, Iran, and other parts of what was the Soviet Union. Many Kurds now also live in cities all over Turkey, integrated into the general society. Groups of Arabic speakers live in provinces that border Syria. Of late, large groups of Persians have come to Turkey, refugees from the regime in Iran. There are also numerous smaller groups who have come from all over Europe and Asia.

The Jews in Turkey are both distinct and integrated. Today, their primary language is Turkish, but they have a separate language, Judeo-Espanol, which is also used. Most of the Turkish Jews are descended from those who were expelled from Spain in 1492. Although they are economically and politically completely integrated into Turkish life, the Turkish Jews retain a strong sense of ethnic and religious identity.

By no means do all the ethnic Turks originally come from Anatolia and Eastern Thrace, the area of modern Turkey. The ancestors of many, more than two million, were exiles from the Balkans and what today is the Armenian Republic. Other Turks were forced out by the Soviets in the 1950s. Still others came in large numbers in the 1980s when the Bulgarian State first discriminated against them, then allowed them to emigrate to Turkey.

All of these groups make up the citizenry of the Turkish Republic. 


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Turkey - Turkish Language, Culture, Customs And Etiquette

Welcome to our guide to Turkey. This is useful for anyone researching Turkish culture, customs, manners, etiquette, values and wanting to understand the people better. You may be going to Turkey on business, for a visit or even hosting Turkish colleagues or clients in your own country. Remember this is only a very basic level introduction and is not meant to stereotype all Turks you may meet!Facts and Statistics

Location: southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria

Capital: Ankara

Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior

Population: 68,893,918 (July 2004 est.)

Ethnic Make-up: Turkish 95%, Other 5% (estimated)

Religions: Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)

Government: republican parliamentary democracy

The Turkish Language

The official language, Turkish, is the first language spoken by 90% of the 63m population. Minority languages include Kurdish, spoken by 6% of the population. Arabic is spoken by 1.2% of the Turkish population; most of those speakers are bilingual Arabic and Turkish speakers. Other minority languages include Circassian, spoken by more than 0.09% throughout the country, Greek, Armenian and Judezmo, a Romance language spoken by Jews.

Turkish Society and Culture

Islam

Islam is the religion of the majority of Turks although the state is fiercely secular. Islam emanated from what is today Saudi Arabia. The Prophet Muhammad is seen as the last of God's emissaries (following in the footsteps of Jesus, Moses, Abraham, etc) to bring revelation to mankind. He was distinguished with bringing a message for the whole of mankind, rather than just to a certain peoples. As Moses brought the Torah and Jesus the Bible, Muhammad brought the last book, the Quran. The Quran and the actions of the Prophet (the Sunnah) are used as the basis for all guidance in the religion. 

Among certain obligations for Muslims are to pray five times a day - at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening. The exact time is listed in the local newspaper each day. Friday is the Muslim holy day although this is not practised in Turkey. However, most males will attend the congregational afternoon prayer. During the holy month of Ramazan all Muslims must fast from dawn to dusk. Fasting includes no eating, drinking, cigarette smoking, or gum chewing

Etiquette & Customs in Turkey

Meeting and Greeting Etiquette

• When meeting shake hands firmly. When departing it is not always customary to shake hands although it is practised occasionally.
• Friends and relations would greet each other with either one or two kisses on the cheek. Elders are always respected by kissing their right hand then placing the forehead onto the hand.
• When entering a room, if you are not automatically met by someone greet the most elderly or most senior first. At social occasions greet the person closest to you then work your way around the room or table anti-clockwise.
• Greet people with either the Islamic greeting of 'Asalamu alaykum' (peace be upon you) or 'Nasilsiniz' (How are you? pronounced na-sul-su-nuz). Other useful phrases are 'Gunaydin' (Good Morning, pronounced goon-ay-dun), 'iyi gunler' (Good Day, pronounced ee-yee gun-ler) or 'Memnun Oldum' (pleased to meet you).

Gift Giving Etiquette

• Gift giving has no real place in business relationships or etiquette. Relationship building and the like will usually take the form of dining or sight seeing trips rather than lavish gifts.
• However, if a gift is given it will be accepted well. It is always a good idea to bring gifts from your own country such as food stuffs or craft items.
• Be aware that Turkey is a Muslim country. Before giving alcohol to anyone be 100% sure that they drink.
• The only time you would need to give any great thought to gifts would be if you were invited to a Turk's home for dinner. The most usual gifts to take are pastries, (especially 'baklava') and decorative items for the home such as ornaments or vases. Flowers are not usually taken to a host but can be if felt appropriate. It is best to ask a florist for advice on what is best to take. If the host has children take some expensive sweets or candy.

Dining Etiquette

• Most business entertaining will take place in restaurants. Turks enjoy food and the meal is a time for relaxing and engaging in some good conversation.
• The protocol of Turkish hospitality dictates that the host always pays for the meal. The concept of sharing a bill is completely alien. You may try and offer to pay, which may be seen as polite, but you would never be allowed to do so. The best policy is to graciously thank the host then a few days later invite them to do dinner at a restaurant of your choice. It may be a good idea to inform the restaurant manager that under no circumstances are they to accept payment from your guests.
• Evening meals may be accompanied by some alcohol, usually the local tipple called Raký (pronounced rak-uh). It will comprise of a few courses with the main course always meat or fish based, accompanied by bread and a salad.
• Turks smoke during meals and will often take breaks between courses to have a cigarette and a few drinks before moving onto the next.

http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/turkey-country-profile.html

The Best Istanbul Hammams

Islam and hammams

In Islamic religion ablution is obligatory for praying and other worships. Therefore, great importance is given to bathing.
In fact, in the first period of Islam, hammam have been banned to Muslims. Subsequently, firstly the men and then the women have been allowed to go to the bathhouse with the condition to use pestemal. Thus, the foundations of the double bath application have been laid and this application has come up today with the Turkish Baths.
Double bath consists of two buildings that located adjacent to each other which have got separated entrances for men and women.
In those days, women were bathing in the day time, as for men were bathing very early in the morning or late at night in the hammam of single bath application.

Turkish Bath Past to Present

Turks began to build closed areas for bathing since the fourteenth century. The Seljuk bath (located on the border of Turkey- Armenia) is thought to be the first hammam building of Anatolia.
Many hammams have been constructed all around of the Ottoman Empire primarily in the capital city Istanbul. Since then Turkish bath has been an indispensable symbol of Turkish culture with its pestemal, rubber, marble basin and the like. Turkish bath culture has been transferred from generation to generation and has reached to the present.
Also many spas have been built on a wide geography that the Ottoman Empire was located. The aim here was to good use of the hot spring water in the territory of the empire.
Some of the Ottoman Baths have been built adjacent to a mosque that inside of a building complex which, called as kulliye, others while have been built as a single building. In that period Hammams have been run by only the waqfs (charitable organisation). Maintenance and other expenses of mosques, medresseh and soup kitchen (place which served free food to the poor and to others, such as madrasah students) have been covered by the revenue of hammams. All the time Hammams have been protected well because of bringing revenue.
After the second half of the nineteenth century in Istanbul private hammams have been beginning to be built that not related to the waqfs.

The Architectural Characteristics of Great Domed Turkish Hammams

For centuries Turkish hammams continues to exist as one of the major components of the Ottoman and Turkish culture. Historical Turkish hammams that surrounded by embroidered walls on all sides are architectural wonders.
Turkish Hammams are of great importance in terms of art and architecture. They have the same architectural features of the mosque. The architectural style of hammam has not changed for thousands of years. Some of the architectural features of Roman Baths also continued during the Ottoman period. The hot room of the hammam (sicaklik) was built on bricks in both periods. The burning fire in kulhan (the boiler room) -which is right next to hot room- is heats the hammam by passing through the channels called as cehennemlik (stokehole). The smoke is thrown out of smokestacks that have been placed into the walls which, made of baked earthenware.

There are three parts to the Turkish hammam;

1. Changing rooms;

It consists of a large hall and the stone benches in the vicinity of the hall. People lie down on the benches to have a rest after bathing in the hammam.

    2. The hot room (sicaklik);

This section of the hammam consists of two parts including the cool room and the bath. Be entered to the hot room by passing the cool room. There are three separate sections in the hot room including the marble basin (common bathing place), halvet (partially enclosed bathing cubicle) and middle stone (heated marble platform to lie on for sweating)

    3.Boiler room (kulhan);

Kulhan -where the fire burn- is at the bottom of the bath. The flame and the smoke rising from the fire pass through the special channels which are inside the walls and then exits from the chimney.


Want to steam away the travel grime in Istanbul's famed hamams but confused by the rituals? Here's a simple guide to keeping your cool.

• First, talk to the receptionist (most of them speak English) and decide on the level of treatment you want. DIY wash? Wash with attendant? Oil massage with that? You'll pay the receptionist and they'll take you to a change area, usually your own lockable room, where you'll undress and leave your things.
• 'Undress' means pretty much what you want it to mean. Most hamams have separate steam rooms for men and women. In this situation, men are expected to maintain a certain loin-clothy level of coverage, but women can throw caution, as it were, to the winds. Most Turkish women subtly drape themselves with their cloth when they're not actually bathing, but if you prefer to bask nude no-one will bat much of an eyelid. If you're feeling shy, part or all of a swimsuit is acceptable; if you find yourself in the kind of hamam that has mixed-sex steam rooms and male attendants, it's usual to keep on at least the bottom half of a swimsuit.
• The attendants will give you a cloth (resembling, in most establishments, an over-sized red gingham tea towel). You'll keep this on to travel from the change rooms to the hamam.
• You'll be given some shoes by your attendant - either traditional wooden clogs or fluorescent flip-flops. Stick with 'em. As a surface for pratfalls, only banana skins beat out wet marble.
• Once you've been shepherded into the hamam you'll be left to lounge on the heated marble. In most cases, there'll be a göbektaşı (belly stone), a round central platform where you can loll around like a sunning python. If not, take a seat and lean against the walls. The idea is to sweat, loosening dirt and toxins in preparation for your wash.
• If you're going self-service, follow this up with a loofah-and-soap rub-down and douse yourself with water from the marble basins. If you've forked out for an attendant, they'll catch up with you after you've had a good, 15-minute sweat. You'll be laid down on the edge of the göbektaşı and sluiced with tepid water, then your attendant will take you in hand.
• First up is a dry massage with a kese (rough mitt). Depending on your attendant, this experience can be delicious (a little like being washed by a giant cat) or tumultuous (picture a tornado made of sandpaper). If you get to feeling like a flayed deer, use the international language of charade to bring it down a notch or two.
• Next will be the soap. The attendant will work up an almighty lather with an enormous sponge and squeeze it all over you: it's a bit like taking a bubble bath without the bath. The foam (attar of roses? Asses' milk? Sorry, it's most likely good ole Head 'n' Shoulders) will be worked into every inch of you. Next, more sluicing, followed by a shampoo, and voila, you're clean as a whistle. The shiny kind.
• If you've ordered an oil massage, you'll be ushered into another room for it. Unless you're particularly flush, it's probably best to skip this bit: the massages are brief and often lack finesse, and the oils are hardly deluxe.
• After the massage, either soap or oil, you're on your own. Many tourists splash-and-dash their way through the hamam experience, leaving immediately after their treatment. Don't be one of them. Hang around. Overheat, cool down with a dousing, and repeat to fade. Let your muscles turn to toffee and your mind go pleasantly elastic. This is what the hamam is really all about.

   by ROSE MULREADY

Famous Historical Istanbul Baths

The Cemberlitas Hammam;

It had built by Nurbanu Sultan (the mother of Sultan Murad III) in 1584. This elegant structure shows that it is the work of Mimar Sinan. The six-line inscription at the entrance of the bathhouse has remained with the original version.
The changing places have been closed with 18 meters wide domes. The square planned hot room (sicaklik) has got a cornered formation consisting of 12 columns. There are domed cubicle spaces on the corners. This cubicle spaces has been separated by couplet written marble separators.
Marble covered floor has been decorated with colored stones. The horizontal size of the middle stone is unequaled.
The Cemberlitas Hammam serves as a double bath (Consists of two buildings adjacent to each other including two separate sections for men and women).
It is one of the best, cleanest and most well maintained Hammams of Istanbul.
English speaking staff is working.
Discount applied to the tourists with international student ID. Credit card is accepted.
Phone: 0090 212 520 18 50 / 0090 212 520 15 33 
Web: www.cemberlitashamami.com.tr
 The Hammam is open between 6:00a.m and 12:00 p.m.

The Cagaloglu Hammam;

It was built in 1741 by Sultan I. Mahmoud with the aim of bringing in revenue to Hagia Sophia Mosque.
The Cagaloglu Hammam which, located in the Sultanahmet district is one of the biggest Hammam of Istanbul that was built lastly.
All the architectural beauty of the structure has been kept until today.
There is an original inscription with a verse of Koran, above the entrance door.
It is entered through the marble door to the building (with a different style of early Ottoman Hammams).
The changing rooms of the men's section are quite spacious and bright. Baroque styled fountain pool in the same section is very striking.
There are eight marble columns with graven tops, four cubicle spaces and octagonal middle stone in the square planned hot room (sicaklik).
The hot cubical space is used as sauna at the present.
The baroque style that was used in the architecture of this Hammam is the beginning of the foreign trends in Turkish architecture.
The hammam still serves as a double bath.
It is one of the best Hammams of Istanbul.
The staff speaks in English.
There is a restaurant-bar at the entrance of the men's section. Reservation required for dinner.
Credit card is accepted.
Phone: 0090 212 522 24 24/ 0090 212 512 85 53 
Web: www.cagalogluhamami.com.tr
For women is open between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.,
For men is open between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

The Oruculer Hammam;

The Oruculer Hammam is one of the best and cleanest hammams of Istanbul. Therefore it is recommended. It is located at the Oruculer gate of Grand Bazaar in Beyazıt. The exact date of construction is unknown. It is estimated that built before 1489.
The most important features of the Hammam;
To located on right next to the Grand Bazaar that visited by tourists,
The bright, beautiful embroidered wooden roof lantern that covering the top of changing rooms,
The original inlaid marble tearoom (this structure that built in 1853 has been added to the hammam subsequently)
The wall tiles adorning the top of entrance door,
Clean and well maintained changing rooms,
Attentive service understanding
Phone: 0090 212 527 92 63
The Hammam is open between 6:00a.m and 23:00 p.m.

The Suleymaniye Hammam;

It has been built in 1577 by Mimar Sinan together with The Suleymaniye Kulliye (a complex of buildings adjacent to a mosque).
The Hammam in Beyazit is the work of Mimar Sinan’s master builder period.
This work reflects the genius of Mimar Sinan.
It attracts attention with its beauty and wideness. Mimar Sinan was always taking bath in Suleymaniye Hammam which was very close to his house. The cubicle spaces that used by him are still being protected.
The Hammam inaugurated by Sultan Suleiman (Suleiman the Magnificent). After the ceremony, Suleiman entered to the Hammam for bathing.
The spacious and bright hot room section of this Hammam is consisting of three iwans and four cubicle spaces. The eight marble columns surrounding the middle stone and the barrel vaults between the columns are the unique examples of the Turkish architecture.
The Suleymaniye Hammam is a touristical Turkish bath. It is one of the best Istanbul Hammams.
Phone: 0090 212 520 34 10
Web: www.suleymaniyehamami.com.tr
 The Hammam is open between 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.

Galatasaray Hammam;

Galatasaray Hammam has been built in 1715 in Beyoglu. In 1965, the women's section has been added to the hammam.
This well maintained and beautiful Turkish bath is located in Beyoglu District.
It is adjacent to the Sultan's School Galatasaray Lice (Lycée de Galatasaray).
The Hammam had been used by school students for many years. The bath house has lost its originality after the restoration work in 1965. The women's section has added to the bath during the restoration.
The changing part of the Hammam is very clean and eye-catching. There is a fountain pool which was added in 1965 to the Turkish bath.
The pasha halvet (cubicle space) in the hot room attracts the attention with its beauty. The terra-cotta marble bordures on the walls of the bathhouse are giving a distinctive beauty to the structure.
In the past, The Galatasaray Hammam was the haunt of riche people. They were certainly going to this Hammam after the drinking bout.
Nowadays, it is one of the most popular Turkish Baths for tourists because of its beauty.
There is an opportunity of closing the Hammam to other people (for groups which can provide minimum twenty people).
Phone: 0090 212 252 42 42 b
Web: www.galatasarayhamami.com
For women is open between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.,
For men is open between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Buyuk Hammam (The Grand Hammam);

The Grand Hammam is one of the best hammams of Istanbul.
It has been built in 1533 by Mimar Sinan together with the mosque which is located just next to the hammam.
The Grand Hammam is located in Kasimpasa district of Istanbul. There are spacious and bright changing places in both women's and men's sections.
There is a large and modern swimming pool in the Hammam. This pool is only serving to the men and can be used by paying an extra fee.
Subsequently, a sauna has been added to the large domed hot room section (sicaklik).
The magnificence of the bathhouse is unfolded by the 60 marble basins inside.
Phone: 0090 212 253 42 29
For women is open between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.,
For men is open between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.

Cinili Hammam (The Tiled Hammam);

This Turkish bath has been built in 1648 in Üsküdar. The Hammam has succeeded to maintain its original structure until today. Hammam has taken the name from the Tiled Mosque.
It is located in Fatih-Zeyrek district of Istanbul.
The Tiled Hammam is one of the most beautiful examples of Ottoman hammam architecture.
It had built by the commander of the naval forces Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha to Mimar Sinan in 1546.
The women and men sections of hammam have the same architectural style.
The Hammam is entered from the spacious and bright domed changing section. The dome height of the men's section is 18.5 meters. There is a fountain pool in this section. This pool is made of a single piece of marble and thought to be a present, which have been given by the King of Iran. Unfortunately, the sixteenth-century Iznik tiles that used to be in the Hammam has not been possible protect until present.
The tiles in the Hammam have been added subsequently to the structure.
There are hexagonal tiles on the doors of cubicle spaces and there are two lines of inscriptions under each tile.
Phone: 0090 212 631 88 83
For women is open between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.,
For men is open between 6:30 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

The Kilic Ali Pasha Hammam;

The Hammam and the mosque (next to the hammam) had built by the commander of the naval forces Kilic Ali Pasha to Mimar Sinan in 1583.
This beautiful Turkish Hammam is located in the Tophane district of Istanbul.
The changing place of Hammam is bright, large and magnificent as in other works of Mimar Sinan.
It serves as a single bath.
Phone: 0090 212 293 70 37 
The Hammam is open between 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.

The Aga Hammam;

This bath is located in Beyoglu Istiklal Street.
It had built by Yakup Aga in 1562 (with the aim of bringing revenue to the lighthouse in Anatolian Side's Fenerbahce district).
It has spent a lot of changes until recently and it has lost the original structure.
The Aga Hamm am has been rebuilt according to modern architectural style, between the years of 1908-1930.
It is one of the few Hammams of Istanbul that 24-hours open.
For this reason, it is a haunt for the well-known persons in Istanbul's night life.
Phone: 0090 212 249 50 27 
For men is open 7 days, 24 hours,
For women is open between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. (every day except Sundays)

The Haseki Hurrem Hammam;

It has been built in 1556 by Mimar Sinan. This wonderful building is seventy-five meters of lenght.
The magnificent domes of the building are covering the top of entrance and the changing places. Male and female sections of the bath are located in back to back.
This Turkish bath is in a seldom seen beauty.
It has got an air of a very magnificent with the domes, which have been placed on an octagonal platform on the walls rising from the flat.
The Haseki Hurrem Hammam does not serve as a public bath anymore.
At the present time, it is used as a gift shop under the Ministry of Tourism. It is very advisable to visit as a historical place.


by turkishhammams.com

Turkish Hospitality: A Non-Muslim’s Discovery .

By Amy Lysen

Freelance Writer- The US

Sunday, 06 October 2013 00:00

As soon as I met the people of Istanbul I immediately felt at home.

Different language, different religion, different sights, smells and tastes! Nothing could be more opposite to my small hometown near Seattle.  Turkey was nothing that I expected or I could have ever imagined; but as soon as I met the people of Istanbul I immediately felt at home.

I had an interesting entrance into Istanbul.  It could have been the worst hitchhiking experience, but it turned out to be my best.  I had caught a lift with a Turkish truck driver from the Romanian-Bulgarian border a day and a half earlier and while we didn’t share a common language, he showed me amazing hospitality and gave me instant respect, which I later found to be the case with every Turkish person I met in my six weeks as a guest in their country.

When my lift dropped me off in the middle of a residential area in the outskirts of Istanbul, some kind men took it upon themselves to help me get to the center.  They took me to their English-speaking friend. He attentively listened to my story: how I came to be there with no Turkish Lira, no nearby ATM, no knowledge of the Turkish language, and no idea what part of Istanbul I was in- or if I even really was in Istanbul.

The kind man could have pointed in any direction and told me to get on a bus or ask someone else.  Instead, he made me tea, then coffee, and a sandwich, and invited me to sit down, relax and be his guest for a while.  After about an hour, he wrote direction for me, flagged down a minibus, told the driver my situation, paid him and gave me 10 Lira. He told me it would be plenty to get me where I needed to be and further, but he thought it was better to give me too much rather than too little, just in case something went wrong.  He then hopped out and waved goodbye before I had time to properly thank him.  I looked in the rear window as he ran back into his shop with a smile on his face.

I was stunned by the amazing compassion he had for me, a woman he had just met and would probably never see again.  His utter selflessness and care for others brought me peace and happiness the rest of my time in Turkey.  It was a wonderful introduction to Turkish hospitality and a great representation of my time there.

While staying with various friends in Istanbul, some Turkish, some not, I was able to see this hospitality in different forms.  One morning, a Turkish friend’s mother was cooking a breakfast feast for me and even though she didn’t understand English and I didn’t speak Turkish, she was happy to understand I enjoyed the food.

One afternoon, I was helped by a Turkish man in a coffee shop to connect my computer to the internet which was followed by a long conversation about my travels and how I liked Turkey.  Many times, I was offered tea by shop owners whether or not I was buying something from them.

I was lucky to meet people who cared about me and never expected anything back.  Their warmth and compassion welcomed me, a total stranger.  I was just one of thousands of tourists passing through, but they made me feel like it was their personal duty to take care of me.

The History of “Hospitality”

The word ‘hospitality’ comes from the Latin ‘hospes’, meaning a stranger, guest, sojourner, visitor or foreigner.  The ancient Greek idea of hospitality meant taking care of the guest, protecting them from harm and guiding them safely to their next destination.

To ancient Greeks and Romans, hospitality was a divine right. No matter how little a host had, it was given to any visitor.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan helping a stranger on the side of the road, we are taught to have love for our neighbors, even those we have not met yet.  When Abraham unknowingly cares for a group of angels, thinking they are travelers, he is gifted by the news they bring that his wife, Sarah, is pregnant.

Showing hospitality to strangers is the same as welcoming God in our lives.  In this way of respecting the divine in each other, we are giving something to a person without expecting anything back.

Contemporary hospitality usually involves proper etiquette, showing respect, providing for the guest’s needs, treating them as equals, and ensuring their comfort during their stay.  It tends to revolve around the goal of beginning a friendship with the strangers we show hospitality.

We are trying to get something out of the hospitality we give.  There are many people who are hospitable to their family and friends or to people they wish to have a personal connection with, but if they don’t have any desire for friendship with someone, they are not treated the same.  At some point in history, we have strayed from the idea of giving without expecting anything in return and have thus become somewhat selfish in our hospitality.  That hospitality is still good, but not as pure as it was.

Pay It Forward

The Turkish have perfected the art of hospitality in so many ways.  They give a lot to their visitors and even though they don’t expect anything in return, I hope they are rewarded for their good acts.  Never once did I feel like I owed anyone for the hospitality they gave me.  Their selflessness has encouraged me to act as hospitable as I can to people in my everyday life.

What better way to welcome someone into your country, culture or home than to show them compassion.  Whether it’s leading them through the public transportation of your city, showing a sincere interest in them or serving a wonderful homemade meal, it can only make their life better.

It doesn’t have to stop at visitors- hospitality can be shown to people in your own community.  Helping someone with their bags at the market, picking up a motorist stuck on the side of the road or giving a homeless person something to eat is just as effective.

Hospitality within your community can help make your culture more welcoming and hospitable to future visitors.

What better way to welcome someone into your country, culture or home than to show them compassion. 

Whether it’s leading them through the public transportation of your city, showing a sincere interest in them or serving a wonderful homemade meal, it can only make their life better.

The Turkish have perfected the art of hospitality in so many ways.  They give a lot to their visitors and even though they don’t expect anything in return. I hope they are rewarded for their good acts.

Turkish Hospitality at a Bookstore in Istanbul

By Mike Lenzen, December 3, 2012 12:52 pm

Turkey is different from Western European and North American countries in a lot of ways. That’s why it’s been so fun for us to visit. Here’s just three examples from Istanbul of how we were treated to a level of hospitality far greater than what we’ve grown to expect more westernized places.

1. The Bookstore

We came to Turkey wanting to walk the Lycian Way, but we knew little to nothing about it. Naturally we were quite intent on finding a guidebook and reading up on what to expect a little before we got started. For most of one morning, Ashley and I strolled through the outdoor stores, and several English bookstores looking for an English copy of the guidebook. We weren’t having any luck.
Sometime around 12:00 pm we wandered into a small store located down a flight of stairs on a side street just off Istiklal Caddesi. At a quick glance we could tell that this was actually a Turkish Bookshop, not an English one. We were about to back ourselves up the stairs when the owner piped up and asked if he could help us. We explained what we were looking for, and he informed us that he didn’t have it. Then he made us an offer. He said that he would speak to all of the other bookstore owners who were his friends and find us a copy of the book if we would come back in 6 hours to purchase it. It seemed like a good deal, so we thanked him and said we’d be back.
Six hours later we returned to the same underground bookstore. The population of the store had increased slightly from earlier in the day. A small crowd of men were gathered around the desk. Some were in chairs, some were standing. All were involved in a discussion that neither of us could understand. There in the middle of it all was our man. The moment he saw us we could tell – by his expression and the way he started to blame everyone in the room – that he had forgotten all about our book.
He quickly apologized and offered us some tea. We began to tell them a bit about ourselves, and they told us a bit about themselves. When our tea was done our host asked if we wanted another. We politely declined at which time he responded by serving us coffee and stating, “I could tell your no was really a yes.”
At some point, the discussion turned towards street food and our host asked, “Are you hungry now?” By this time it was already 8:00 and we were a bit famished. He sent one of the other men out to the corner shop to bring back some traditional Turkish food for everyone, or so we assumed.
When the food arrived, we saw that they had only bought enough for us. Chickpeas and rice, bread, a tomato and bean soup, and a salty cucumber yogurt drink. After serving us, everyone got up and left so they wouldn’t be staring at us while we ate our meal.
“Now we just need to serve you a Turkish Coffee, and our mission will be complete.”
Before parting ways some 5 hours after arriving, we had learned a great deal about Turkey and what it’s like to live there. We had a tea, coffee, a meal, and a Turkish coffee all for free. We exchanged emails and phone numbers and were told that if we had any trouble, or needed anything while we were in Istanbul, we should not hesitate to give get a hold of them. Considering we didn’t spend a penny, I’d say that was some darn good hospitality.

2. A Man on the Asia Side

We took the ferry across the Bosphorus to the Asian side of Turkey. After stepping off the ferry, we unfurled our map to get a bearing on where we were. Then we heard the all too familiar “Excuse me, Excuse me,” from what we assumed to be a crafty undercover salesman. You know the kind. First they make small talk, ask you where you’re from, then tell you about some store or tour you absolutely have to see.
But what he said next shocked us, “Can I help you with anything?” That was it. He genuinely just wanted to help us out. He had nothing to sell us, and was only being kind. He helped us figure out where we were, and gave us some tips on what we could see nearby.

3. Fast Food Bathroom Attendant

Here’s one of our dirty little secrets. In both Central America and Europe, public bathrooms generally cost money. Washrooms at fast food chains however are generally free for paying customers. We however have no scruples against sneaking into a chain restaurant’s bathroom and sneaking out without spending a dime. But it doesn’t always work. If you get caught, you are either denied entrance to the bathroom or forced to make a purchase.
It looked like things were headed that way for us when Ashley was stopped by one of the employees on the second floor of a fast food doner shop. He knew that we weren’t customers, and we knew that he knew. The moment was tense for just a split second until finally he said, “Toilet. Upstairs,”  and pointed us to the stairs.  We did our business and left. No questions asked.
These are just a few examples of the different hospitality we’ve noticed in Turkey that we have not seen anywhere else. The Turkish people are doing a very good job making us like them and their country.