The hot room at the Hacı Kadın Bath in Istanbul. 'Modesty partitioned' wash basins can be seen round the periphery of the hot room, which makes them very humid, not to say steamy.
The baths were built some time around the end of the 17th century. They are still open today with sessions for women from 9.30 to 5.00 and sessions for men during the remaining hours between 6.00 in the morning and midnight. There is a well lit dressing room, a warm area, and a pool added some time after the original bath was opened.
The photograph and description are from Orhan Yılmazkaya's beautifully produced Turkish baths: a guide to the historic Turkish baths of Istanbul.
© Malcolm Shifrin, 1991-2023