Cagaloglu Hamami opened in 1741 and has been working continuously ever since, which makes it one of the last classical Ottoman baths still operating for its original purpose. It was built as a charitable foundation, with the income supporting a library founded by Sultan Mahmud I.
The men’s and women’s sections are separate and both are original. Under the marble dome, light comes down through star-shaped openings onto the heated stone in the middle of the room, and the sequence has not changed in three centuries: heat, scrub, foam, cold water.
Book ahead in high season and allow ninety minutes. From Hotel Sultania it is a walk of about four minutes, which is short enough that you can go back to the hotel afterwards without cooling down on the way.