Guide
What is a Turkish bath?
A Turkish bath — a hamam in Turkish — is a bathing ritual built around warmth, water and an attendant who scrubs and washes you. You warm up, your skin is scrubbed with a coarse mitt called a kese, you are washed in thick soap foam, and in the Basic Hamam in Belek you finish with an aromatic oil massage of about 20 minutes.
Updated Friday, 25 September 2026
The idea in a few lines
Heat first, then the scrub, then the foam, then rest. The hamam comes from a long bathing tradition in this region and became part of Ottoman social life, as much a place to meet as a place to wash. The basic order is simple: you warm up, and then you are scrubbed and washed by someone else.
How a hamam differs from a sauna or a steam room
| Type | Heat | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Sauna | Hot and dry | You sit and sweat; nobody touches you. |
| Steam room | Warm and full of steam | You sit in the steam; nobody touches you. |
| Hamam | Warmth, water and marble | An attendant scrubs you with the kese and washes you in foam. |
The kese scrub and the foam wash are what make a Turkish bath a Turkish bath. The Basic Hamam in Belek includes a sauna and a steam room as well — they are where you warm up before the attendant starts.
The words you will hear
- Hamam — the Turkish bath itself.
- Kese — the coarse mitt used for the scrub, and the scrub itself. See our guide to kese.
- Köpük — foam. The foam wash follows the scrub. See the foam treatment.
- Peştemal — the flat-woven cotton wrap worn in the hamam. One is provided.
A Turkish bath in Belek, the way we arrange it
The Basic Hamam is the whole ritual in one visit, with the transfer taken care of:
- pickup from your hotel at the confirmed time;
- sauna and steam room to warm up;
- the kese scrub;
- the foam treatment;
- a basic aromatic oil massage of about 20 minutes;
- time to relax, then the ride back to your hotel.
It costs €25 per adult and takes about 2 to 3 hours from pickup to drop-off. The order and timing inside the hamam can vary with the hamam and the day. The step-by-step version is in how long a Turkish bath takes.
Is it for me?
No experience is needed: the scrub, the foam and the massage are done for you by the hamam's attendants, and you keep your swimwear on throughout. A Turkish bath is not recommended during pregnancy, with heart or circulatory conditions, or if you are sensitive to heat or humidity — read the health and safety notes before you book if anything applies to you.
Book the Basic Hamam in Belek
€25 per adult, return hotel transfer included. You see the final price before you confirm, and you pay on the day.