Darling

Growing up in Thailand you grow quite weary of Massage Parlors, one of which - as far as I can remember - was referred to as "Darling:Turkish Bath"

For those of you who have visited us in Thailand you know exactly what I'm talking about. There's an old fluorescent sign that hangs - more like dangles - on the side of the road as you enter the street in which my family resides. In pink letters it reads "Darling" and underneath, an explanation: "Turkish Bath" - so you can imagine my first impression was not the greatest.

Nonetheless, as we were walking the streets of Turkey and eavesdropping on tour guides and/or taking recommendations from friends, one of the resounding/recurring themes was to check out the Hammam, aka Turkish Bath aka Darling.

I was slightly torn at this point. I knew that if I were in Thailand it would take a lot more than some recommendations to get me to enter Darling. In fact, I think the only way that I would do such a thing is if I were in one of those HazMat suits!

Trusting in my our friends' suggestions we decided to check out Çemberlitaş, a very traditional Hammam built in 1584 and established by "Nurbanu Sultan, wife of Selim II and mother of Murat III, for the purpose of bringing in revenue to support the Valide-i Atik Charity Complex in Toptasi, Üsküdar" - if you know me you know I'm a sucker for charities so I decided that it was a sign and this place here would be just the experience that could rid me of my preconceived notions!

the entrance to Çemberlitas

And that is how I ended up experiencing one of the most painful baths of my life :)