Once used as public baths, hammams in the city are enjoying luxury makeovers – and rekindling the traditional art of cleansing oneself.

Istanbul, Turkey – The Zeyrek neighbourhood of Istanbul is quintessentially residential; men play backgammon on makeshift tables and discarded vegetable crates line the streets. Seemingly identical grocers, butchers and spice shops alternate between one another, each drawing a handful of customers at any given time.

Turning into Itfaiye Street, I catch sight of a series of silver domes lining the horizon. Below them, at the Zeyrek Cinili hammam, there is a small commotion.

Gaggles of friends and lone tourists mill around an arched stone entrance. Some of them sport slicked-back hair. Others clutch enormous bags with towels and exfoliator scrubs poking out.

The hub of activity surrounding the newly restored 16th-century bathhouse points towards a wider cultural renaissance occurring in the city: the revival of the historic hammam ritual.

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