Cemberlitas Hamami in Istanbul: Biographical Memoir of a Turkish Bath

Tells the life story of Istanbul’s Çemberlitaş Hamamı, providing a case study for the cultural, social and economic functions of Turkish bathhouses over timeWeaves together Ottoman and modern Turkish architectural, cultural, social, economic and other strands of history in examining an important element of everyday lifeApplies a biographical approach that presents a new paradigm for the discussion of architectural monuments, not only in an Ottoman context, but across time and spaceReconstructs the story of the hamam using architectural surveys, archival documents, media analysis and participant observationTakes an experimental approach in terms of the organisation and presentation of Ottoman architectural historyBathhouses (hamams) play a prominent role in Turkish culture, because of their architectural value and social function as places of hygiene, relaxation and interaction. Continuously shaped by social and historical change, the life story of Mimar Sinan’s Çemberlitaş Hamamı in Istanbul provides an important example: established in 1583/4, it was modernised during the Turkish Republic (since 1923) and is now a tourist attraction. As a social space shared by tourists and Turks, it is a critical site through which to investigate how global tourism affects local traditions and how places provide a nucleus of cultural belonging in a globalised world.This original study, taking a biographical approach to tell the story of a Turkish bathhouse, contributes to the fields of Islamic, Ottoman and modern Turkish cultural, architectural, social and economic history