For many first-time visitors, the strangest thing about a Turkish bath is not the heat but the vocabulary. "Lie down on the göbek taşı", "sit by the kurna", "the natır will be with you shortly": sentences like these can sound puzzling if you do not know the language of the hammam. Yet each of these words describes part of a space that has worked in much the same way for centuries. This glossary groups them into four sets: the rooms, the people, the objects and the ritual. Each entry opens with a short definition, then explains the word's place in the hammam and how you are likely to meet it in a hotel spa today. If you would like to know more about the ritual itself, you will find the steps and lengths on our Turkish bath page.
What are the rooms of a Turkish bath?
A classic Turkish bath is a series of rooms that lead from cool to hot. The Hamam entry of the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam describes the Ottoman bathhouse around three main sections, the changing hall (camekân), the cool room (soğukluk) and the hot room (sıcaklık), plus the furnace (külhan) and the water tank (hazne). The Türkiye Tourism Encyclopedia also mentions a small passage (aralık) between the changing hall and the cool room, and calls the hot section the "harare". The order is not random: as you move from one room to the next, your body gets used to the heat gradually, and on the way out it cools down along the same path.
Camekân: the changing hall
The camekân is the first large room you enter; the TDK defines it as "the glazed area in a bathhouse where people undress". The word comes from the Persian câmekân. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam explains that in Ottoman bathhouses this room was usually covered by a large dome, lined with raised marble platforms (sofa) and centred on a fountain (şadırvan). This is where you undress and put on your peshtemal, and where you rest and have a drink on the way out. In a hotel spa, its equivalent is the changing room with lockers and the relaxation area.
Soğukluk or ılıklık: the warm room
According to the TDK, the soğukluk is "the slightly heated area between the bathing area and the dressing area" of a hammam. Although its name means "the cool place", it is really a warm in-between room, which is why many sources also call it the ılıklık ("the lukewarm place"). Its job is to be a doorway: a body coming in from outside gets ready for the heat here, and a body coming out of the hot room cools down a little.
Sıcaklık (harare): the hot room
The sıcaklık, in the TDK's definition, is "the hot area of a hammam where people bathe"; it is the true heart of the bathhouse. The Türkiye Tourism Encyclopedia calls it the "sıcaklık/harare" and describes the basins where each person washes, the navel stone in the middle and the halvet alcoves within it. Marble floors, marble walls and the dome keep the steam inside. The hammam room in a hotel spa is a smaller interpretation of this space, designed for one session at a time.
Göbek taşı: the navel stone
The TDK defines the göbek taşı as "the wide marble platform heated from below, on which people lie down to sweat in a hammam". It sits in the very centre of the hot room, slightly raised; Turkish Wikipedia gives its height as 45–50 centimetres and notes that it is used for the kese scrub, sweating and resting. Its name, literally "belly stone" or "navel stone", comes from its position at the "navel", or centre, of the room; in fact, the TDK's second meaning of göbek is "the centre of a place". The ritual often begins here, as you lie on the warm marble and let your body heat up.
Kurna: the marble basin
A kurna, in the TDK's definition, is "a round marble, stone or plastic basin under a tap in a bathhouse or bathroom, in which water is collected"; the word comes from the Arabic kurne. Kurnas line the walls of the hot room, each with taps for hot and cold water above it. You sit beside the kurna, scoop up the water with a hammam bowl and pour it over yourself. A "marble kurna" usually means this classic basin carved from a single block of marble. The water collects in the kurna and is taken from it with the bowl, rather than flowing straight away as it would from a sink.
Halvet: the private alcove
A halvet is "a very hot small space in a hammam", according to the TDK; the word comes from the Arabic halvet, meaning "being alone". The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam describes these as "small cell-like spaces in the hottest part of Turkish baths". The Türkiye Tourism Encyclopedia mentions a "hot halvet" above the furnace and a "cool halvet" further from it. The halvet was the place for anyone who wanted to step away from the crowd and bathe in a quieter, hotter corner.
Külhan and hazne: the furnace and the water tank
The külhan, in the TDK's definition, is "the large enclosed furnace beneath a hammam that heats it"; the word comes from the Persian kulhan. The Türkiye Tourism Encyclopedia explains that this section was built against the wall of the hot room, and that wood was burned here, later coal or fuel oil. Hot air from the furnace passes under the floor, warming the navel stone and the marble from below. The hazne is the tank where water is heated and stored. The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam notes that Ottoman bathhouses took this underfloor heating from the Roman baths, while their plan was clearly different.
Kubbe and fil gözü: the dome and its skylights
The hot room of a hammam is usually covered by a dome (kubbe) set with small glass skylights called fil gözü, literally "elephant's eyes". Turkish Wikipedia notes that these are cut in groups, in shapes such as circles, stars and polygons, adding richness to the architecture. In a steam-filled room with no space for windows, daylight filters in through these openings. The soft, scattered beams of light you see in hammam photographs come from the fil gözü.
What is the person who scrubs you in a hammam called?
The short answer: in the women's section, the woman who gives the kese scrub and washes guests is a natır; in the men's section, the man who does the same work is a tellak. Both words appear in the TDK dictionary with these meanings. The hammam was never the work of these two alone, though; the Türkiye Tourism Encyclopedia describes the bathhouse as the symbol of a culture "that lived with its tellak, its natır and its külhanbeyi".
Natır: the female bath attendant
A natır, in the TDK's definition, is "a woman who works in a women's bathhouse and washes the customers"; the word comes from the Arabic nâtır. The natır welcomes female guests, takes them into the hot room, then scrubs, foams and rinses them. Women's ceremonies such as the bridal bath and the "fortieth-day" bath were also held in the women's section, where the natır worked.
Tellak: the male bath attendant
A tellak is "a man who works in a bathhouse and washes the male customers", according to the TDK; the word comes from the Arabic tellâk. The tellak's work is the same as the natır's: once the guest has warmed up on the navel stone, he scrubs them with the kese, covers them in foam and rinses them at the kurna.
Külhancı and hamamcı: the stoker and the bathhouse keeper
A külhancı, in the TDK's definition, is "the person who stokes the furnace of a hammam"; the job was to keep the furnace burning and the bathhouse hot all day. A hamamcı is "a person who runs a bathhouse", according to the TDK. In hotel spas today, the külhancı has been replaced by a boiler room and automation, and the person who carries out the ritual is usually called the "hammam attendant".
Who gives the kese scrub in a hotel spa today?
In hotel spas, the kese and foam are given by an attendant trained to carry out the hammam ritual. You can request a female or male attendant at our locations; mention your preference when you book. Euro Park, Wanda Vista, Ramada Plaza, Wellwood Sapanca and Radisson Blu Trabzon have separate hammams for women and men.
Hammam objects and what they mean
The Türkiye Tourism Encyclopedia lists the objects that make a hammam a hammam in a single sentence: "hammam bowls, kese mitts, loofahs, nalın or takunya clogs, peshtemals, sherbet bowls, rosewater sprinklers and incense burners". The collection of the Bayezid II Turkish Bath Culture Museum in Istanbul confirms the list: copper and brass hammam bowls, ewers, wooden clogs, cotton bath towels, and silk and cotton peshtemals.
Peshtemal: the hammam wrap
The peshtemal is the thin woven cloth you wrap yourself in at the hammam. The TDK spells it peştamal and defines it as "a thin woven cloth used to cover oneself in the bathhouse"; it comes from the Persian puştmâl. In everyday Turkish and in shops, the spelling "peştemal" is more common, and in English you will see "peshtemal", "pestemal" and "hammam towel"; they all mean the same thing. It can be cotton, silk or linen; because it is thin, it dries quickly and keeps you covered without clinging even when wet. Men tie the peshtemal at the waist, while women usually wrap it at chest height. The TDK's other meanings describe the same cloth tied at the waist as an apron or worn over the head.
Kese: the exfoliating mitt
A kese, in the TDK's definition, is "a pocket-shaped cloth made of crêpe-like fabric, slipped over the hand to rub the body and remove dirt while bathing". The word comes from the Persian kîse, whose original meaning is "small bag"; the hammam kese, too, is a bag you slip over your hand. Today kese mitts come in different textures and levels of coarseness; if you would like a gentler scrub, just tell your attendant. We walk through the kese and foam step by step in our Turkish bath scrub and foam massage guide.
Hamam tası: the hammam bowl
According to the TDK, the hamam tası is "a shallow bowl used in baths and bathhouses to take water from the tap or the basin and pour it over oneself". The traditional bowls displayed at the Bayezid II Turkish Bath Culture Museum are made of copper and brass; the collection also includes bowls known as "healing bowls" (şifa tası) and ewers. Today the hammam bowl is still used in the ritual to take water from the kurna and pour it slowly.
Nalın and takunya: wooden bath clogs
There is no difference: the TDK sends "nalın" straight to "takunya" and defines the takunya as "a type of high-heeled wooden footwear generally used in wet-floored places such as bathhouses; a nalın". "Nalın" comes from the Arabic na'leyn, "takunya" from Greek. The raised heel kept your feet out of the water on wet, soapy marble. In hotel spas today, non-slip slippers are usually used instead of clogs.
Köpük torbası: the foam bag
The foam bag is a thin cloth bag that is dipped in soapy water and filled with air; when it is squeezed, it releases the cloud of foam that covers you. The cultural site Turkish Republic describes the attendant dipping a cloth bag, or a mitt resembling a pillowcase, into soapy water to create the foam. Köpük itself, in the TDK's definition, is "the white bubbles formed when soap, detergent and the like dissolve in water". In the hammam, the kese and the foam follow each other, and the body is rinsed with warm water after the foam.
Towels, yağlık and hammam soap
Besides the peshtemal, traditional hammams used cotton bath towels and thin cotton cloths called yağlık; the Bayezid II Turkish Bath Culture Museum displays them together. Many places use bar soap as hammam soap; if you prefer unscented soap or your own, you can say so in advance. Which of these to pack is covered in detail in our guide to what to bring to a Turkish bath.
Ritual words: keselenmek, köpük and şerbet
Like the rooms and the objects, the things you do in a hammam have their own words. Many of them are still used on spa menus today.
Keselenmek: being scrubbed
Keselenmek means being scrubbed with a kese; the TDK defines the verb "keselemek" as "to rub the body with a kese to remove dirt". In the ritual, the kese comes after the body has warmed up on the navel stone and in the heat. Telling your attendant how firm you would like the scrub, or how warm the water should be, is a normal part of the ritual.
When does the foam come?
The foam comes after the kese. Using the foam bag, the attendant covers your whole body in a soft layer of bubbles, washes you with light movements and rinses you with warm water. GoTürkiye describes the hammam experience in three stages: warming up on the navel stone, the kese scrub and the foam wash. For guests who would rather skip the kese, there are rituals with foam only.
Why do people drink şerbet after a hammam?
Şerbet, or sherbet, is defined by the TDK as "a drink made by mixing fruit juice with sugared water". Drinking sherbet or tea while cooling down in the camekân after the hammam is a long-standing habit; the "sherbet bowls" listed by the Türkiye Tourism Encyclopedia are the vessels of this tradition. Sherbet closes the ritual: as the body rests after the heat, there is something sweet to finish.
What are the bridal bath and the fortieth-day bath?
The gelin hamamı, or bridal bath, is according to the TDK "a ceremony held at the bathhouse for a bride-to-be a few days before the wedding"; its second meaning is the ceremony in which the women of the groom's family take the bride to the hammam the day after the wedding. The kırk hamamı is "a special gathering at the bathhouse for a woman to bathe once she has completed the first forty days after giving birth". Both traditions show that the hammam was not only a place to wash but also a place where women came together.
Where does the word "hammam" come from?
"Hamam" is an Arabic word. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, hammâm, derived from the root hamm meaning "to heat; to be hot", literally means "the place that heats" and is used in the sense of "a place for bathing". The TDK also gives the word as coming from the Arabic hammâm, meaning "a place to bathe". Looking at the origins of the words in this glossary shows how many cultures fed into the hammam: natır, tellak, kurna, halvet and nalın come from Arabic; peştemal, kese, külhan and camekân from Persian; takunya from Greek. Göbek taşı, soğukluk and sıcaklık are Turkish.
The Ottoman hammam inherited the Roman technique of underfloor heating but arranged its space differently. In a Turkish bath today, you still wash with water scooped from the kurna with a bowl, and almost every word in this glossary describes one part of that arrangement.
Turkish bath terms at a glance
The table below brings together the words in this glossary, with a short meaning and the English term you are most likely to see.
| Turkish term | Short meaning | English term |
|---|---|---|
| Camekân (soyunmalık) | Entrance room for changing and resting | Changing hall |
| Soğukluk (ılıklık) | Warm room between the changing hall and the hot room | Warm room / transition room |
| Sıcaklık (harare) | The hot room where you bathe | Hot room |
| Göbek taşı | Marble platform in the centre, heated from below | Navel stone, heated marble platform |
| Kurna | Marble water basin under the taps | Marble basin |
| Halvet | Small, hotter alcove in the hot room | Private alcove |
| Külhan | Furnace that heats the hammam | Furnace |
| Fil gözü | Glass skylights in the dome | Dome skylights |
| Natır | Woman who washes guests in the women's section | Female bath attendant |
| Tellak | Man who washes guests in the men's section | Male bath attendant |
| Külhancı | Person who stokes the furnace | Stoker |
| Peştemal (peştamal) | Thin cloth to cover yourself | Peshtemal, hammam wrap |
| Kese | Coarse mitt for scrubbing | Exfoliating mitt |
| Hamam tası | Shallow metal bowl for pouring water | Hammam bowl |
| Nalın (takunya) | Raised wooden bath shoe | Wooden bath clogs |
| Köpük | Rich lather made with soapy water | Foam wash |
| Keselenmek | Being scrubbed with a kese | To be scrubbed |
| Şerbet | Sweet fruit drink | Sherbet |
Where are these words in a hotel spa hammam today?
A hotel spa hammam does not have every room of a historic bathhouse on the same scale, but the language of the ritual is the same. The changing room takes the place of the camekân, and the hammam room the place of the sıcaklık. In many spa hammams the navel stone and the kurna are still marble, and the peshtemal and kese have not changed. The difference is that the experience is a session by appointment: you arrive at a set time, an attendant assigned to you carries out the ritual, and the session lasts as long as the menu says. If you are wondering how a hammam differs from a sauna or a steam room, see our comparison of sauna vs steam room vs hammam.
Step by step: a hammam session in the words of this glossary
- Getting ready in the camekân. In the changing room you leave your clothes and put on your peshtemal. Your slippers are today's nalın.
- Warming up in the sıcaklık. You move into the hammam room and lie down on the navel stone. Your body slowly warms up on the hot marble.
- First water from the kurna. Your attendant takes warm water from the kurna with the hammam bowl and pours it over you.
- Kese. Your attendant scrubs your whole body with the kese; the pressure can be adjusted as you like.
- Foam. You are washed with plenty of foam from the foam bag, then rinsed.
- Back to the camekân. Wrapped in a dry peshtemal or towel, you move to the relaxation area and have sherbet, tea or water.
Hammam rituals at Beatus
The Beatus menu has three hammam rituals. The Pasha Hammam (40 min) is a full-body kese scrub, or aromatic soap foam only. The Scheherazade Hammam (55 min) adds an aromatic oil massage for the head, hands and feet to the Pasha ritual. The Sultan Hammam (80 min) is designed for special occasions: a scrub with grape seed or coffee bean, brown sugar, coffee or honey crystals, followed by foam, an oil massage for the head, hands and feet, and sherbet. If you would like to combine the hammam with a massage, the Jet Lag Package (120 min) brings together 40 minutes of hammam, 40 minutes of classic massage and a short facial.
Our Turkish bath and hammam guide, which covers the ritual, its history and how to prepare in more depth, reads like a companion to this glossary. You can see our locations with a hammam on our spas in Istanbul page; on the Black Sea coast, our Radisson Blu Hotel Trabzon location welcomes guests to its hammam. When you book, ask the location which of the peshtemal, kese, slippers and towels are provided, and whether there are separate hours or areas for women and men.
A few tips for using hammam words
- "Peştemal" and "peştamal" are both understood. The TDK dictionary uses "peştamal"; signs and spa menus more often say "peştemal". In English, "peshtemal" is the usual spelling.
- The navel stone is for lying on, just as the TDK definition says. If you are sharing it with other guests, leave room and do not spread your things out.
- Keep the water in the kurna clean. Not pouring soapy water back into the basin is a courtesy to the guest who comes after you.
- Not every hammam has a halvet. Hotel spa hammams usually have a single hot room; you will hear the word halvet mostly in large historic bathhouses.
- Tell your attendant what you prefer. "A lighter kese, please", "could the water be a little cooler?" or "foam only, please" are the most useful phrases in the language of the hammam.
- Listen to your body in the heat. If you are pregnant, have high blood pressure, a heart condition or another health concern, speak to your doctor before a hammam and mention it when you book.
