Istanbul, Turkey – On a hill close to the heart of Istanbul’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed Zeyrek district stands Cinili Hamam, a 500-year-old Turkish bathhouse whose unbroken history stretches back to the heights of the Ottoman Empire and the time of its legendary naval commander, Hayreddin Barbarossa.
Commissioned by the Grand Admiral and built by renowned architect Mimar Sinan around 1530, the so-called “Tiled Bathhouse” was a pinnacle of architectural splendour and sophistication in the city, famous for its distinctive blue and white Iznik tiles.
