I have two travel heroes in my life ... my Papa and Michael Palin (he of "Around the World in 80 Days). Mr Palin - when in Istanbul - visited the Cagaloglu Haman which is over 300 years old.
He basically was pulverised by a hairy man .... and I am sure I saw a tear or two fall down his cheeks during the "treatment"! Anyway - today I followed in his footsteps!
Over the years, the likes of Kate Moss, Chevy Chase, George Soros and Florence Nightingale have come down here to have the ultimate hamam experience in the world.
It's VERY hot and humid in the hamam so the whole crew had to strip to just a cloth and it took the camera 30 minutes to acclimatise itself.By the way - Tim and James thoroughly enjoyed their Ritz-Carlton spa experience last night - and both looked VERY clean this morning!
SO - first up, the heat room ... 47 degrees celcius ... around 115 fahrenheit! 100% humidity! For 20 minutes ... PHEW!
Then I met "The Bear" aka Turan Sahin - who may look small but has the power of 12 large, angry bears ...
ALL SMILES!
He washed me down after "massaging" me thoroughly When I mean massage, I mean he whooped me ... crunch, scrap, slap and pound! He took my breath away!!
He finally used a goat hair brush to scrub me clean! The whole process took an hour ... and the smile I have here is sheer bravado! I was ... and am still ... aching all over! But WHAT an EXPERIENCE!
Lunch - a quiet affair - was at Yanyali ... where we had a dessert made of chicken! I am not joking!
Then it was over to the Asian side of Istanbul via one of the two suspension bridges. He we popped into Cemilzade - one of the oldest and finest makers of Turkish Delight in this country. It was founded in 1883 ...
There are many flavours: pistachio, rose, buffalo mozarella & hazelnut to name but four.
The company is now run by Baris Cemiloglu - the 4th generation of the ultimate Turkish Delight manufacturers! Turkish Delight is water, sugar, citric acid .. and starch. There is good stuff and fabulous stuff ... here at Cemilzade, it's all better than fabulous!
Back in "Europe" and we headed to the Kempinski Hotel where waiting for us was pilot Kemal Suler. Plantours (http://www.plantours.com/) had arranged a 30-minute flight around the city! The weather was not bad ... nor was it good ... but we flew around getting everything we needed! Hotels, mosques, bazaars and bridges ... lovely. This is a MUST do in Istanbul ... the city is vast from the sky! A helicopter flight is much better than a cruise down the Bosphorus ... trust me!
The Pilot!
Tomorrow is our last day in this amazing city! It's been brilliant!
Song of the Day: Happiness is Easy - Talk Talk
Weather: Fair ... to middling!
SO - first up, the heat room ... 47 degrees celcius ... around 115 fahrenheit! 100% humidity! For 20 minutes ... PHEW!
Then I met "The Bear" aka Turan Sahin - who may look small but has the power of 12 large, angry bears ...
ALL SMILES!
He washed me down after "massaging" me thoroughly When I mean massage, I mean he whooped me ... crunch, scrap, slap and pound! He took my breath away!!
He finally used a goat hair brush to scrub me clean! The whole process took an hour ... and the smile I have here is sheer bravado! I was ... and am still ... aching all over! But WHAT an EXPERIENCE!
Lunch - a quiet affair - was at Yanyali ... where we had a dessert made of chicken! I am not joking!
Then it was over to the Asian side of Istanbul via one of the two suspension bridges. He we popped into Cemilzade - one of the oldest and finest makers of Turkish Delight in this country. It was founded in 1883 ...
There are many flavours: pistachio, rose, buffalo mozarella & hazelnut to name but four.
The company is now run by Baris Cemiloglu - the 4th generation of the ultimate Turkish Delight manufacturers! Turkish Delight is water, sugar, citric acid .. and starch. There is good stuff and fabulous stuff ... here at Cemilzade, it's all better than fabulous!
Back in "Europe" and we headed to the Kempinski Hotel where waiting for us was pilot Kemal Suler. Plantours (http://www.plantours.com/) had arranged a 30-minute flight around the city! The weather was not bad ... nor was it good ... but we flew around getting everything we needed! Hotels, mosques, bazaars and bridges ... lovely. This is a MUST do in Istanbul ... the city is vast from the sky! A helicopter flight is much better than a cruise down the Bosphorus ... trust me!
The Pilot!Tomorrow is our last day in this amazing city! It's been brilliant!
Song of the Day: Happiness is Easy - Talk Talk
Weather: Fair ... to middling!
