The Cemberlitas Hamami
The Cemberlitas Hamami
Mimar Sinan
1584
Istanbul, Turkey
The Cemberlitas Hamami was commissioned by Nurbanu Sultan, the head of the Ottoman imperial harem following the death of her husband, Selim II. In her position of administrative control, she developed charitable endowments like the Hamam. The Hamam has two separate sections for men and women, each with separate entrances. Beyond the entrance, visitors process into a dressing room (sogukluk), then into a warm room (ilillik), and finally to a dodecagonal hot room (sicaklik).
In the Islamic world, the bathhouse served as a central social institution, wherein communities socialized and partook in spiritual cleansing. This theme of gathering is reflecting etymologically, as the term “hammam” is derived from the Arabic triconsonantal root meaning heat or warmth.
The hammam’s numerous rennovations and narrative re-imaginings reject reductive analysis. Ultimately, the hammam’s character is directly dependent upon the lived experience of its patrons, who imbue the structure with social, religious, economic, and symbolic meaning.