An Istanbul Experience Steeped In Culture At Zeyrek Çinili Hamam

A hidden treasure nestled in the UNESCO-listed Zeyrek neighborhood of Istanbul, Zeyrek Çinili Hamam Museum is a stunning revival of one of Istanbul’s oldest Turkish baths. This 500-year-old architectural marvel has been transformed into a vibrant cultural complex that includes a functioning hamam, a museum, and a contemporary art gallery. Its story intertwines Ottoman grandeur, Byzantine heritage, and modern innovation, making it a must-visit destination.

A 500-year-old jewel in the crown of Istanbul, Zeyrek Çinili Hamam, one of Istanbul’s oldest Hammams reopened earlier this year after a thirteen-year restoration. A Jewel of Ottoman Architecture, Zeyrek Çinili Hamam was commissioned by Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa and designed by the celebrated architect Mimar Sinan, Chief Architect of Suleyman the Magnificent’s court. Constructed between 1530 and 1540, its name “Çinili,” meaning “tiled,” reflects the exquisite blue and white tiles that once adorned its walls.

Almost five centuries later The Marmara Group bought the Zeyrek Çinili Hamam—also known as ‘Barbarossa’s Cinili Hamam’—and restored to its former glory with a contemporary vision that respects and embraces the important archaeological and historical site. The Zeyrek Çinili Hamam cultural complex is an oasis of calm away from the hectic tourist hotspots, and functions as an Ottoman Hamam, museum and contemporary art space.

After years of neglect, the Marmara Group undertook a meticulous 13-year restoration of the complex, enlisting local architects KA-BA for the epic task and reopening the site in 2024. Using a team of architects, tile experts, and historians, the restoration revived the Hamam’s grandeur while preserving its historical essence. Many of the original tiles, now housed in international collections like the British Museum and the V&A, were digitally reconstructed and displayed in the adjacent museum.

A Multi-Layered Cultural Complex, Zeyrek Çinili Hamam is a kind of living time capsule, showcasing Istanbul’s layered history—from Roman and Byzantine to Ottoman and Modern Turkish periods. The museum exhibits tile fragments, Byzantine artifacts, and Ottoman bath accessories.

An epic view of the Golden Horn can be experienced above the dome of the Hamam, and inside the Hamam offers the chance to engage with the ancient Ottoman rituals of taking a Turkish bath.

An on-site museum pays homage to the rich history of the Hamam and the famous tiles which the Zeyrek Çinili Hamam was named after. Research undertaken during the restoration revealed that the original interior walls were decorated with blue and white tiles, and thirty-seven tile compositions were commissioned specifically for the Hamam, with four sequences accompanied by colorful marble floor tiles. The Hamam in its 21^st Century incarnation is a meditative, zen-like space, with the men’s and women’s Hamams featuring high ceilings with the domes in each section decorated by star-shape cutouts through which the magical Istanbul light filters.

Rahmi Asal, Director of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums says in an extensive book that was published about Zeyrek Çinili Hamam titled ‘Barbarossa’s Cinili Hamam’: “Imagine a forgotten jewel in between the alleys of Zeyrek, inscribed in UNESCO’s World Heritage List, in our city of Istanbul, one of the greatest cities in the world. I am talking about one of the many cultural heritages of Istanbul that has been neglected for many years: Zeyrek Cinili Hamam, which was commissioned by Barbaros Hayreddin Pasha and built by the genius Sian in the 1530s.”

I visited the 500-year-old Zeyrek Çinili Hamam to meet the curator of Alekos Fassianos: Sailing to Byzantium, and I met with the museum’s director Koza Yazgan and Archaeologist Nedim Guvenc who talked me through the incredible history of the Zeyrek Çinili Hamam.

Koza Yazgan explained: “The restoration has been a part of my life growing up as an adult, having taken 13 years, and a project my whole family has been heavily invested in. It has been particularly important to peel back the layers to its original form and preserve as much of its history and original use as possible, while making it relevant today for multiple generations in Istanbul. It was equally important to create a new multi-sensory experience for the city and foster a greater appreciation for this tradition, which is why we decided to open a museum.”

Alekos Fassianos: Sailing to Byzantium, curated by Anlam de Coster in collaboration with Alekos Fassianos Museum and Estate, is the inaugural exhibition in the Byzantine cistern, recently discovered during the restoration, now reimagined as an exhibition space.

Anlam de Coster: “We wanted to pay homage to the multi-layered history of the Hamam. So we are kicking off the series that will be hosted in the Byzantine cistern with an exhibition dedicated to Alekos Fassianos.”

De Coster connects Fassianos’ legacy with Barbarossa’s own pursuit of immortality through artistic and architectural commissions. The exhibition, running until 22^nd February, 2025 transforms the cistern into a meditative space where history and art intertwine.

Sailing to Byzantium weaves a dialogue between the works of Greek artist Alekos Fassianos (1935-2022) and the hHammam’s rich historical and cultural heritage. Fassianos was a remarkable 20^th Century artist celebrated in Greece and internationally, and Zeyrek Çinili Hamam hosts his first post-humous museum exhibition since his passing two years ago.

Anlam de Coster: “I feel that there are a lot of connections between these two incredible men. Fassionas was a painter, architect, ceramic artist, set designer and writer. Barbarossa was also a potter before he became a pirate and later an Admiral, because his father was a potter on the island of Lesbos, a Greek island close to Turkey.”

The exhibition’s title Sailing to Byzantium comes from a 1927 poem by William Butler Yeats, where the poet uses a sea voyage to Byzantium as a metaphor for a spiritual journey.

Wiliam Butler Yeats:

“Once out of nature I shall never take

My bodily form from any natural thing,

But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make

Of hammered gold and gold enamelling

To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;

Or set upon a golden bough to sing

To lords and ladies of Byzantium

Of what is past, or passing, or to come.”

Yeats’ evocative poetry acts as a conduit between the narrative of rogue Greek pirate turned esteemed Admiral Barbarossa, and celebrated Greek 20^th Century artist Fassianos. Fassionas was inspired by Ancient Greece and also influenced by byzantine iconography. His grandfather was priest and he spent time during his childhood helping his father illustrate Byzantine manuscripts. His mother was a Hellenist and he was immersed in ancient Greek culture.

Anlam de Coster: “I think Yeats, Barbarossa and Fassianos all challenged mortality and wanted to transcend the ephemeral through artistic creation. I think Barbarossa commissioning such a grand Hamam in this particular neighbourhood was a symbolic gesture for making his legacy last. Because we are in a really symbolically charged Byzantine neighbourhood. Next door to us is a Byzantine monastery.”

It feels deeply symbolic to experience a dialogue between Fassionas’ artworks and the Byzantine cistern. Towards the end of the Hamam restoration, archaeologists discovered ancient graffiti of ships on the walls which academics believe were made by galley slaves who were employed by Barbarossa to build the Hamam in the 16^th Century and may have been imprisoned in the chambers of the cistern or slept there. One can almost feel the ghosts of the galley slaves who once inhabited the space and feel empathy for their plight.

De Coster told me that the neighbouring monastery to Zeyrek Cinili Hamam was considered to be second holiest church after the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul and explained why there is such a palpable spiritual energy radiating within the cistern and complex: “We discovered that the cisterns underneath the Hamam are connected to the cisterns under the church. This leads us to believe that most probably there was a pre-dating Roman bath or healing space of sorts before the Hamam was constructed in the 16^th Century. You can feel the spiritual energy of the complex.”

De Coster was invited two years ago to take part in the project by Koza Yazgan, founding director of the Zeyrek Cinili Hamam. Gureli’s mother originally bought the Hamam and started the restoration project. When she retired Koza took over the project and set to work on a mammoth restoration project which has resulted in an important cultural, historical and wellness centre for a contemporary Istanbul.

Anlam De Coster: “I had the opportunity of visiting Fassionas’s house in 2021 before he passed away. I was lucky that I was able to keep in touch with his daughter, who approached me last year saying that they had so many visitors at the newly founded museum in Athens, and she wanted to do something in Turkey.”

Fassianos was born in Greece and became celebrated in his place of birth and internationally for creating a signature style fusing antiquity with modernism, transforming everyday people such as sailors and farmers into mythological heroes with graphic lines, bold primary colours and hints of gold. Byzantine iconography meets classical antiquity with a modern edge and gender fluid characters in Fassinaos’s paintings, which have a universal message and timeless spirit.

After my visit to the exhibition and tour of the museum, I tried the Hamam experience which was incredible, and I left feeling completely revitalised. Hammam (bathhouse) culture dates to more than two millennia and particularly points at the almost- sacred role of water in humankind’s life. In addition to cleaning and purification, bathhouses were also a source of healing for people, and they rose to prominence with the introduction of public baths during the Roman period.

It was almost an out-of-body experience to lie on the heated marble looking up at the Istanbul light penetrating star-shaped incisions in the majestic domed ceiling as meditative Turkish music played and the expert natır (Hamam therapist) carefully reenacted the centuries-old authentic hammam ritual involving warm marble therapy, traditionally known as göbektaşı.

Contemporary design blends with the building’s ancient Ottoman features in the Zeyrek Cinili Hamam. Everything has been sensitively restored, including fragments of Iznik tiles, wall paintings, and hidden Byzantine cisterns. It is obvious from the immense amount of craftsmanship and use of natural and sustainable materials that every effort was taken to preserve such an important piece of Istanbul’s architectural and social history. At the same time the Marmara Group and the architects they appointed were radical in their vision, which embraces contemporary design and architecture whilst respecting and preserving archaeological wonders of the past. It’s this alchemy of mixing old and new that creates such a special hammam experience. One of the Hammam’s signature rituals revolves around a central stone, known as asgöbektaşı, where guests can relax under a scenic starry dome before experiencing treatments within site-specific marble massage units designed by Athens-based artist Theodore Psychoyos.

The project has been a true labour of love for the Marmara Group, who spent 13 years restoring and renovating the ancient Hammam with meticulous attention to details from the tile museum, uniforms designed by celebrated Turkish designer Hussein Chalayan and site-specific massage seats crafted from repurposed marble, leftover blocks, and massive columns from the restoration designed by Greek-French artist Theodore Psychoyos. This carefully considered restoration of a 500 year of building combines ancient and modern aesthetics in a sustainable and intellectual way.

Turkish baths—or hammams—date back to the Ottoman Empire when they had an important function in society not only as public bathhouses at a time when people didn’t have private bathrooms, but also as social meeting places.

On view in the Zeyrek Cinili Hamam are stone carvings and pottery dating from the Byzantine period that were found during the restoration process, as well as a collection of exquisite bathing bowls, mother-of-pearl combs, and other accessories that bring Ottoman hamam culture to life. Inside the bath, contemporary versions of traditional pestemal (towels) and nalin (clogs) by fashion designer Hussein Chalayan carry the past into the present in style.

When the Marmara Group bought the Hammam they were keen to offer guests of their Istanbul hotels a traditional Turkish bath experience. I stayed at the flagship hotel in Taksim Square where the service is impeccable and had dinner at the Marmara Taksim in Okra on the hotel’s 20th floor with an incredible panoramic view of Istanbul. Highlights of the menu overseen by Okra Executive Chef Mert Yalçıner with culinary finesse and communicated expertly by waiter Omer include the Sea Bass and Seven Spiced Lamb with Turkish Pendore Okuzgozu red wine from the extensive wine list.

When I ask museum director Koza Yazgan what highlights are coming up in 2025 she told me: “We are looking forward to staging two solo exhibitions in collaboration with two living artists in 2025. They will each present within the Byzantine cistern site-specific works inspired by the history of bathing and the hammam’s architectural heritage, building on our inaugural group exhibition Healing Ruins.”

Alekos Fassianos: Sailing to Byzantium in partnership with Alekos Fassianos Museum and Estate, Athens, is at Zeyrek Çinili Hamam Museum until 22^nd February, 2025.