Admission is reserved for couples and families with children and is forbidden for singles. Inside, large rooms for massages and steam baths, with arches and marble beds. There is no shortage of relaxation corners where you can sip a good tea. The old kitchen still works today and has been transformed into a restaurant, the Darüzziyafe (Ifahane Street No. 6, tel 0090.2125118414, 20), Which serves traditional Turkish dishes, from Süleymaniye soup to Fukâra Ke Külü, a sort of local pudding.

More recent (dating back to 1714) is the Cağaloğlu Hamam (Prof. Kazi Gurkan n. 34, Cağaloğlu, Mon-Sun, men 8-22, women 8-20, from 30, tel 0090.2125222424). It is certainly the favorite Turkish bath for VIPs. Within its walls, kings and emperors have relaxed, as well as artists such as Franz Litz, Tony Curtis, Rudolf Nureyev and, more recently, Brian May, Harrison Ford and Cameron Diaz. Here, too, one moves among tall marble columns, in corridors illuminated by the light of lantern domes. After the steam bath, a gourmand break, not far away, at the Matbah Restaurant (Caferiye Sokak n. 6/1, Sultanahmet, 40-50, Mon-Sun open for lunch and dinner, Sunday brunch, tel 0090.2125146151): traditional Ottoman cuisine (with many vegetarian dishes), overlooking the historic center of Istanbul.