The beautiful Zeyrek inili Hamam has just reopened its wooden doors to the world after being closed to visitors for more than ten years. The bathhouse was constructed in the 1530s by Mimar Sinan, the principal architect of legendary Ottoman sultans like Suleiman the Magnificent. It is situated in Istanbul’s Zeyrek neighbourhood, on the European side of the Bosporus, close to the ancient Fatih area.
The Turkish word “inili” means “tiled,” emphasising the hamam’s most striking interior design element: the bathouse was formerly entirely covered in thousands of vivid blue Iznik tiles.
By the time it closed in 2010, the hamam had been open for five centuries, largely serving the public as a hamam but also temporarily as a saddlery and a storage in the late 1700s. The Iznik tiles that had been used to cover the walls were completely hidden by mould.
The hamam, which briefly reopened in 2022 for the Istanbul Biennial, is poised to embark on a brand-new chapter.
Inili Hamam will reopen on September 30 after a 13-year hiatus, initially as a place for exhibitions and then, starting in March 2024, as a public bath with separate areas for men and women.
The hamam will have a complete makeover in addition to a contemporary art space underneath the Byzantine cistern’s arches, a new museum that reconstructs the history of the structure, and an urban garden with laurel trees. The Marmara Group, who acquired the structure in 2010, has just completed its second significant historical restoration project.
examining the past
“We were unaware of any of the lore surrounding the hamam when we purchased it. However, in Zeyrek, no matter how deep you delve, you always find something, according to Koza Yazgan, the project’s creative director.
These rectangular tiles, which are distinct from the [typical] hexagonal ones, were located in the men’s section. They were written in Farsi and were on the wall. Each tile included a different verse. They had been moved at some point; they weren’t where Sinan had initially put them, according to our translation and study.
Around 10,000 tiles were used to cover the walls of the hamam when it was first constructed, but only a few are still visible. Some were lost, some were taken, some were destroyed by earthquakes and fires.
The Marmara Group has discovered that tiles from the late 19th century were even sold to distant private collections and museums, including London’s V&A. These organisations were able to pinpoint the exact location of the origin of their Iznik tiles thanks to a group of archaeologists and historians at the hamam.
Yazgan continues, “We decided not to leave them where we found, but to exhibit them in the museum.” This refers to the enigmatic Farsi tiles.
The Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo and the Louvre in Abu Dhabi were designed by the German company Atelier Brüeckner, and the museum at Inili Hamam will display some of the many Roman, Ottoman, and Byzantine artefacts discovered during the restoration, including coins and unusual graffiti of foreign ships.
Visitors can also look at a variety of unique items that former hamam guests have used, such as the shimmering nalin mother-of-pearl clogs.
Unsurprisingly, an entire floor of the museum will be devoted to the magnificent Iznik tiles from the hamam. The pièce de résistance is a cutting-edge augmented reality (AR) display that transports you to the bathhouse as it was during Mimar Sinan’s time, digitally overlaying the white walls in all their turquoise-tiled splendour.
Yazgan thought it necessary despite the outstanding attempt at reconstructing something long since vanished. “I believe that it is more crucial than ever to safeguard these historic sites, especially in light of how the city has transformed over the past 20 years. They will all be lost if not,” she warns.
Stunning on the inside and out
Though Zeyrek was originally built around the affluent Pantokrator Monastery, now the Zeyrek Mosque, in the wealthy 12th century, Zeyrek is now a predominantly working-class neighbourhood.
The bustling meat and spice markets flow out onto the streets, and the restaurants are filled with the fruity aroma of perde pilav, a meal of chicken, grapes, and rice from a less affluent area of eastern Turkey.
Zeyrek is not at all like the surrounding Ayasofya neighbourhood, where Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, and the Topkapi Palace are all located, despite being a part of Istanbul’s UNESCO-listed region. Foreign visitors are uncommon in this area.
Zeyrek’s streets are noisy, and the hamam’s more than 30,000 square feet provides a tranquil haven.
Evil spirits are deterred from entering the house thanks to an evil eye that hangs from the front door. The oak door is strong and hefty, just as it would have been 500 years ago; nevertheless, because it is so new, it still retains the fresh-sawn-wood scent.
The process of moving through three rooms in succession after crossing the threshold is common to all Turkish baths. The first is the camekan, or “cold” chamber, which is actually a room-temperature space where visitors are encouraged to rest and undress. It is advised to relax on couches, take in the architecture, and sip hot Turkish tea or coffee.
The body adjusts to temperatures of about 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in the warm room, a dry seated area. The smoky hararet, which can reach temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), is the final space and contains a flat marble slab.
You unwind by lying on the göbek taş, also known as the “belly stone,” says Yazgan. It’s a cleansing area, both physically and spiritually… one hour of escaping from the mundane. There, masked attendants bathe and massage their prone customers.
The Inili Hamam is the ideal place to unwind, combining Ottoman expertise with seamless minimalism. The modern facilities are kept from looking overly clinical by Scandinavian-style oak cupboards, lockers, and door stops.
Just enough natural light shimmers through the glass stars on the domed ceilings (a characteristic of Ottoman hamam design), but not enough to blind. Sections of the original brickwork, Sinan’s structural reinforcements, and the kaleidoscopic Iznik tiles are on display as original Ottoman elements to stimulate the mind, but they never disturb the serene ambiance.
returning to life
The Inili Hamam will initially feature a one-time modern art exhibition with specifically commissioned works focused on themes of ruin, history, and healing, three terms that sum up the location. This will happen while the hamam’s bathing rooms are still dry.
The baths will be filled with water and put back to use once the exhibition ends in March 2024. The Zeyrek Inili Hamam, according to Yazgan, will faithfully reproduce time-honored Ottoman bathing customs.
Instead of Swedish massages and fragrant oils, there will be hot, muggy environments, chiropractic adjustments that break joints, and bubble massages that scour the skin with clouds of foamy suds.
Yazgan draws attention to one contemporary feature that distinguishes inili from Turkey’s ultra-traditional hamams, though.
“The men’s part of hamams often has a taller and more ornate design. They also have more tiles and muqarnas (decorated vaulted ceilings). To ensure that everyone may enjoy both sides, we will, however, rotate the days for each [gendered] part.
A miniature version of Istanbul
It’s difficult to imagine a crowd of people entering the hamam’s spotless, empty rooms right now. It also appears a little out of place with its surroundings when entering the garden, where only a thin layer of foliage conceals the raw goat legs on show in the butcher’s shops.
The Marmara Group, however, is of the opinion that the recently renovated hamam might fundamentally transform the character of the area, utilising Zeyrek’s underappreciated ancient structures to make it a popular spot for cultural tourism.
Even the neighbourhood store owners ponder whether to stock soaps or peshtemals (traditional Ottoman towels). We’re also considering creating a “Zeyrek map” that would indicate hamam visitors where they could go to nearby sites or eat in a historically significant setting, according to Yazgan.
In addition to the impressive Zeyrek Mosque, nearby attractions include the baroque Süleymaniye Mosque, which is Mimar Sinan’s masterpiece, and the enormous Roman Aqueduct of Valens.
The hamam has the potential to join Istanbul’s ever-expanding portfolio of hip cultural venues: a place where one can immerse themselves in the city’s multicultural history while taking part in an ancient rite. However, an increase in visitor numbers could put the neighbourhood at risk of gentrification.
“The hamam is like a microcosm of Istanbul with the museum, relaxation element, and historical layers,” claims Yazgan.
It is undoubtedly going to be the only location in the city where you may learn something new, participate in augmented reality, enjoy a cup of coffee, undress in front of others, and still feel at ease when you leave.
