Attention!
Constantly updated by the local Pink Guides representatives
living in the major Turkish cities, Turkeygay.Net, serves as
the most dependable resource you can find providing information on
LGBT venues and gay-friendly events in Turkey. However, it’s
important to acknowledge that there might be occasional
discrepancies in the provided information, as we may not have
captured all recent changes. Please use the details provided with
this in mind.
Additionally, please be aware that many of the venues
listed on the website lack official owner approval and they all are
not gay or gay-friendly places necessarily.
Bathhouses are daytime venues, and most
of them close around 10 - 11 pm. They tend to be busiest
after work hours, in the evenings, and on Sundays. The
entrance price for these places are around 10 US Dollar
equivalent, to be paid in Turkish Liras. Massage and
other services are optional, but you need to pay the
entrance fee even if you do not get any massage. While
you may encounter people of all ages, the majority of
clients in these bathhouses are middle-aged and mature
men. The bathhouses frequented by gay individuals are
situated on some backstreets and are not very close to
each other. Therefore, if you plan to visit several of
them in one day, it’s advisable to conduct thorough
research in advance. Our tailor-made
online LGBT Map
will be very helpful for this purpose.
You can find more detailed information about gay friendly
sauna and bath houses on
Turkish Bath Guide.Com
website, including location maps and reviews of the
people who have visited them.
Firuzaga Hammam
Cukurcuma
Cad, No: 6 Beyoglu, Istanbul
Turkish Bath Guide - Firuzaga
A small old Turkish bath house in Beyoglu. You can find most
easily by walking down from
Galatasaray Square, the middle of Istiklal avenue,
or walking up from
Tophane tram station
Yesildirek Hammam
Tersane
Cad, No: 124, Beyoglu, Istanbul
Turkish Bath Guide - Yesildirek
It is about 5-10 minutes walking
distance to Halic (Golden Horn) station on the
M2 metro line. You can also walk from Taksim in some
20 minutes. Visited by mature men mostly.
Cihangir Sauna
Altipatlar Sokak, No: 14.
Beyoglu / Istanbul
Turkish Bath Guide - Cihangir
Located on a back-street near the beginning of Cukurcuma
street. It is not a traditional
Turkish bath. Basically it has a sauna, some kind of a
dark room, showers and a cafe-lounge area.
Aquarius Sauna
Sadri
Alisik Sok,
No: 29 / 1, Beyoglu, Istanbul
Turkish Bath Guide - Aquarius
A modern venue near Taksim with a dry sauna, swimming
pool, Jacuzzi and a small gym. Open 7/24, everyday and
round the clock. It is advised to read guest reviews
before going to this place because it has a completely
different concept compared to other traditional bath
houses listed above.
Click here for more details.
Balat Cavus Hammam
Turkish Bath Guide - Balat Cavus
Attention: This venue was permanently closed
in early 2025.
Following hamams are not gay venues,
but are recommended to people who want to experience the
atmosphere of a more luxurious historical Turkish bath.
These historical bathhouses are mostly visited by
tourists and their prices are much higher compared to
the ones above, with prices of basic hammam packages
starting from 60-70 Euro, usually including entrance,
scrubbing and foam-massage.
Cukurcuma
Hamam
Cukurcuma Cad, No : 43,
Beyoglu / Istanbul
Located some 5-10 minutes walking distance from Istiklal
Avenue, this hammam which was closed in 2007 began to
accept its guests again in September 2018 after a very
comprehensive renovation period.
Galatasaray Hamam
Turnacibasi Sokak,No:
8, Beyoglu, Istanbul
This hamam was used exclusively by men for almost 500
years. This all changed in 1963 with the addition of a
small section for women. However, aside from this little
addition, not much else has been altered. It was
originally built in 1481 during the reign of Beyazit II
and contains many pretty details, such as the intricate
tile work at the entrance to the steam room in the men's
section.
Cagaloglu Hamam
Kazim Ismail Gurkan Cad, No:34, Cagaloglu
Cagaloglu Hamam was built
about 300 years ago on an area of 2834 sq.mt It is
considered the last sample of its category and the
architectural design is astonishing. It is open
everyday.
Cemberlitas Hamam
Vezirhan
Cd. No:8, Cemberlitas, Istanbul
It is located in Sultanahmet, near the Grand Bazaar. The
hammam which was built in 1584 is said to be very popular
among the Ottoman Sultans at those times. It is considered to be one of
the most important examples of 16th century Ottoman
architecture.
Hurrem Sultan Hamam
Ayasofya Meydani, No: 2 Sultanahmet,
Istanbul
Ayasofya Hurrem Sultan Hamami is the most luxury and
fairly expensive historical Turkish bath located at the
very center of historical Sultanahmet district, across
from Santa Sophia. It was commissioned by the Ottoman
Sultan Suleiman's consort, Hurrem Sultan, and
constructed by well-known architect Mimar Sinan during
the 16th century.
Click here for a full list of historical
Turkish baths
Most tourists do not like to be in places
where there are only other tourists and understandably want
to experience the original places where local people go.
Although above listed bath houses are easier to find and
better samples of historical Turkish baths we would also
like to introduce several other good samples of
less-known local Turkish baths. Actually, there is
always a possibility bumping into people interested in
gay-affair in such less touristy bath houses. Intimacy
is highly recommended in such cases.
Please click
here for a complete list
The Turkish hamam (also Turkish bath or hammam) is the
Middle Eastern variant of a steam bath, which can be
categorized as a wet relative of the sauna. They had
played an important role in cultures of the Middle-East,
serving as places of social gathering, ritual cleansing
and as architectural structures, institutions, and
(later) elements with special customs attached to them.
Europeans learned about the hamam via contacts with
Turkey hence the European name for it: "Turkish" hamam.
Taking a Turkish bath firstly involves relaxing in a
room (known as the warm room) that is heated by a
continuous flow of hot dry air allowing the bather to
perspire freely. Bathers may then move to an ever hotter
room (known as the hot room) before splashing themselves
with cold water. After performing a full body wash and
receiving a massage, bathers finally retire to the
cooling-room for a period of relaxation.
In Turkey, the advent of modern plumbing systems,
showers, and bathtubs in homes caused the importance of
hamams to fade in recent times.
A typical hamam consists of three interconnected basic
rooms similar to its Roman ancestors: the sicaklik (or
hararet -caldarium) which is the hot room, the warm room
(tepidarium) which is the intermediate room and the
sogukluk which is the cool room. The sicaklik usually
has a large dome decorated with small glass windows that
create a half-light; it also contains a large marble
stone at the center that the customers lie on, and
niches with fountains in the corners.
A private gay guide will accompany your first nights in Istanbul
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