Cemberlitas Hamami in Istanbul

Bathhouses (hamams) play a prominent role in Turkish culture, because of their architectural value and social function as places of hygiene, relaxation and interaction. Continuously shaped by social and historical change, the life story of Mimar Sinan's emberlita Hamam in Istanbul provides an important example: established in 1583/4, it was modernized during the Turkish Republic (since 1923) and is now a tourist attraction. As a social space shared by tourists and Turks, it is a critical site through which to investigate how global tourism affects local traditions and how places provide a nucleus of cultural belonging in a globalized world.
This original study, taking a biographical approach to tell the story of a Turkish bathhouse, contributes to the fields of Islamic, Ottoman and modern Turkish cultural, architectural, social and economic history.

“The bathhouse was at the center of Ottoman life, and consequently reflected the social transformations that occurred in the Ottoman Empire and Turkish Republic. The ”

Çembirlitaş Hamam in Istanbul was an impressive monument, designed by the great architect Sinan and endowed by the legendary Nurbanu, yet it was also a utilitarian building that served the needs of daily life. In a field dominated by studies of the Ottoman state and its extensive bureaucracy, this book--written with verve and style--uses the metaphor of biography to examine the bath as an institution, building type, waterwork, sensory experience, poetic subject, and social event. Rich in detail, it explores everything from property law to towels. An inscription at the Çembirlitaş Hamam proclaims: "This pleasurable hamam is a wonderful place" - and Reader, this delightful study is a wonderful book.-- "D. Fairchild Ruggles, University of Illinois"

Nina Macaraig is Visiting Associate Professor at Koç University, Istanbul. She is co-editor of Istanbul and Water (2015) and editor of Bathing Culture of Anatolian Civilizations: Architecture, History and Imagination (2011).

Istanbul's

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