But outside the jewel box sit neglected treasures right under our noses. We purchase and eat Turkish cheeses regularly with scarcely a thought about their heritage, legacy or amazing variety. Turkey might even have more cheese varieties than France!
Unplumbed, bubbling deep under the earth's crust are Turkey's underground thermal springs, thought to number about 1,800. Despite the tsunami of spa culture that has engulfed the globe nobody beyond Turkey's borders seems to know about these gems. They are out of this world, yet priceless in terms of the nation's literal "liquid assets."
Excellent tourist resorts and accommodation are available at some of the best-known hot springs, but some others are humble and hidden, spas-in-the-raw waiting to debut on tourist scene.
Thermal waters occur naturally, boiling hundreds of meters below ground. Enormous pressure pushes waters to the surface and, as they pulse their way through faults and deep fissures underground, they are enriched with revitalizing mineral nutrients. It is a fortuitous whim of nature that the geology that makes Turkey prone to tremors and earthquakes also creates the tectonic environment that brings thermal waters to accessible springs and pools.
Most Turkish thermal waters emerge at such high temperatures and pressures that much of the water becomes runoff and percolates back into the ground because it is just too hot to handle.
Below ground and out-of-mind they may be, but the tangible benefits of mineral waters for bathing and drinking are convincing and increasingly recognized by medical doctors. Hydrotherapy and balneology (the study of thermal bathing) are now as scientific as they are sybaritic. But this is to ignore the fact that thermal waters have been around since creation and people have been taking the waters for thousands of years. Going to a spa may be enjoying a revival but thermal cures are as old as man himself.
Some thermal cure centers, like Hamamayağı, near Ladik, were reputedly used by Persians in 300 B.C. and Romans in 150 B.C. to bathe and cure battle wounds and rinse away the stress of combat. Seljuks and Ottomans equally bore testimony to the valuable minerals that were used to cure and relieve various illnesses either by bathing in or drinking the waters at this spa.
The ancient geographer Strabo wrote about Roman armies who came to Havza, near Samsun in the Black Sea region, for healing after battles.
History recalls that Byzantine Emperor Constantine, who gave Constantinople its name, visited Termal, near Yalova, in the fourth century. Emperor Justinian I (517-565) visited Bursa to utilize the waters with his wife Theodora and entourage of thousands and also detoured to Termal for the spa experience.
In Sultan Abdülhamit II’s era (1867-1909) the springs at Termal became a leisure playground with a carnival atmosphere where the rich and regal went for cures before, during and after the next round of parties.
The 16th century chronicler, Evliya Çelebi, visited Tuzla’s thermal sources at İçmeler and recorded the following in his “Seyahatname.” “This healing water is enjoyed in the beginning of summer by those who come from İstanbul and other parts of cities. They come together and entertain altogether for 40 days and nights that it is not possible to describe it, and those who suffer from different diseases, drinking it for three days and nights and be cured from their greenish ballast and to discharge phlegm...”
Many legends are associated with Balçova as a thermal source for treating the war wounds of the soldiers of Agamemnon’s Greek army during the Trojan War. Centuries later the city of İzmir was quick to spin the thermal experience to Norwegian tourists, who still return.
Similar to Roman armies, Turkey’s armed forces have a 300-bed spa in Bursa.
Originally set up in 1922 to treat sick and wounded soldiers after the War of Independence, the upgraded, modern spa facilities now offer hydro and physiotherapy and rehabilitation to the military and, space permitting, to civilians. The same thermal waters that rehabilitated, cured and maintained health thousands of years ago are as potent today as ever. In the early days of the Turkish Republic spas and treatments were accorded legal status under a newly enacted hygiene statute. Many treatments are prescribed by a doctor and Turkish citizens can claim certain expenses back from the Health Ministry.
Local Turkish people know and go to these spas for cures but they are not on the agenda for most tourists. The hamam, or Turkish bath, has been more aggressively marketed and is more familiar. Professor Zeki Karagülle is the director of the Medical Ecology and Hydroclimatology Department of İstanbul University’s medical faculty and he estimates that about 8 million people stay at a spa for just one night in Turkey, implying that development of the country’s spa potential is virtually at an embryonic stage.
Therapeutic spas are for men, women and families. Middle Eastern visitors come to Turkey to enjoy family spas, sometimes frowned upon in their own countries. Once, hydrotherapy was considered an alternative therapy, a substitute to “real” medicine. But now the remedial waters are a mainstream treatment for a whole host of modern-day ailments.
Some thermal sources are certified by the Turkish Ministry of Health, which holds a stake holder in a number of establishments. Waters are analyzed and the ministry specifies cures and spas for various ailments like rheumatism, arthritis and a range of muscular, gynecological, skin and circulation disorders and more. Some waters promote healing of fractures, torn ligaments or help to relax atrophied muscles or relieve inflammatory nerve diseases like neuritis. The cures are little short of, well, miraculous, but even if one takes these claims lightly, there is real evidence that hydrotherapy and medicinal thermal treatments bring relief and promote physical and spiritual well-being.
Spa waters typically contain rich concentrations of calcium, sodium, magnesium, bicarbonates, sulfur, potassium, nitrates, iron and zinc in proportions that vary with the water source and temperature. Some spring waters contain iodine, radon and radioactive ions, which are said to benefit digestive and endocrine disorders, although of course due caution should be exercised in the case of “radioactive” springs!
The benefits derived from geothermal waters mostly come through soaking and being immersed in the water. This applies particularly to magnesium, which is more potent if absorbed than if taken as a dietary supplement by mouth. “Old wives” knew what they were about when they advised soaking aching feet in Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate). A few spas have icy waters. Benefits come from drinking, as these are often too chilly for bathing.
A healing spa with global repute is the Kangal Fish Springs, near Sivas. Legend tells of the proverbial inquisitive shepherd temporarily distracted from his flock by steam hissing out of the ground. He was further astounded to find a unique breed of fish surviving in the 38 degree Celsius waters. The resident fish “nibble” the skin of psoriasis suffers because this is their only diet. But patients report extraordinary curative results from the 21-day treatment. The high concentration of selenium in the water is a contributing factor in cures. Recently upgraded, this is a lush, verdant retreat in a desolate, hilly area.
NaturMed in Davutlar near Kuşadası was the first spa in Turkey to treat hydrotherapy as a science and uses the steamy thermal waters as part of a disciplined health regime.
Alongside geothermal hydrants, Mother Nature has stiff competition in the form of wonderfully luxurious hotels that offer spa and beauty treatments. Hotels like Les Ottoman, the Ritz Carlton, Swissôtel and the Kempinski put spa therapies on the main marketing menu. Ankara’s classy Swissôtel was planned around the concept of the spa and its clients’ well being. Many high-class hotels don’t have thermal waters, but these are still marvelous places to raise your health quotient and make the spa a lifestyle habit, not just an occasional treat.
Nature’s pump room
Water resources are being abused and depleted almost everywhere, including Turkey, while other areas are flooding. These are surface and ground waters. But Turkey is blessed with copious mineral springs that have been emerging for millennia and look set to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. The Age of Aquarius has been reborn. Even if beauty spas ebb and flow on the tides of fashion, Mother Nature will still be pumping health in Turkey for the foreseeable future -- another precious asset to put in Turkey’s tourist jewel box.
Some of Turkey’s spas are referenced below but you can view a comprehensive range of thermal and beauty spas, from lavish to rustic, in Turkey in “Spas & Hot Springs of Turkey,” published by Boyut and written by Suzanne Swan. The Turkish translation by Mustafa Kın as “Türkiye’nin Spaları ve Termal Kaynakları” appears alongside the English.
A QUICK TOUR OF TURKEY’S SPAS AND HOT SPRINGS Bodrum region
Kempinski Hotel Barbaros Bay
Kızılağaç Köyü
Gerenkuyu Mevkii
Yalıçiftlik
Bodrum
Muğla
Tel.: (252) 311 0280
Fax: (252) 311 0281
Toll free: 00 800 426 313 55
spa.barbaros@kempinski.com
www.sixsensesspas.com
Afyon/Kütahya region
Hüdai Yeni Thermal Hotel
Hüdai Yeni Kaplıca (New Spa) Hotel
Sandıklı, Afyon
Tel.: (272) 535 7330 and 535 7320
www.hudai.sandikli.bel.tr
From Afyon: 66 kilometers (south)
From Sandıklı: 8 kilometers off the main Afyon-Antalya road
İkbal Thermal Hotel
İzmir Karayolları Üzeri 9 kilometers
Afyon
Tel.: (272) 252 5600
Fax: (272) 252 5614
www.ikbal.com.tr
Oruçoğlu (Ömer) Thermal Resort
Kütahya Yolu 14 kilometers
Afyon
Tel.: (272) 251 5050 and 251 3504
Fax: (272) 251 5060
info@orucoglu.com.tr
www.orucoglu.com.tr
Ankara region
Swissôtel/Amrita Spa
and Wellness Center
Yıldızevler Mahallesi
Jose Marti Caddesi 2
Çankaya,
Ankara
Tel.: (312) 409 3666
Fax: (312) 409 3667
amrita.ankara@Swissôtel.com
www.amritaspa.com
Termal Otel
Hastane Caddesi 25
Haymana
Ankara
Tel.: (312) 658 2900/01
Fax: (312) 658 0206
Haymana Resort
(MNT Turizm)
Medrese Mahallesi
Güven Dinçer Caddesi
Haymana
Ankara
Tel.: (312) 658 3400
Fax: (312) 658 3404
Ayaş İçmece ve Kaplıcaları
İşletmeleri Fizik Tedavi
Rehabilitasyon Merkezi A.Ş
İçmeler Mevkii Ayaş
Beypazarı
Ankara
Tel.: (0312) 718 31 01
Fax: (0312) 718 31 04
www.ayasicmece.com.tr
Kızılcahamam Milli Parkı
(National Park)
Tel.: (312) 736 1115
78 kilometers north of Ankara
Patalya Thermal Resort
Soğuksu Milli Parkı İçi
Kızılcahamam
Ankara
Tel.: (312) 736 55 29 and 736 0200
Fax: (312) 736 0210
patalya@patalyahotel.com.tr
www.patalyahotel.com.tr
Antalya region
Kempinski Hotel the Dome
Üç Kumtepesi Mevkii
Belek
Antalya
Tel.: (242) 710 1310
Fax: (242) 725 5575
Toll Free: 00 800 426 313 55
thedome@kempinski.com
www.kempinski-belek.com
Sungate Port Royal
Çifteçeşmeler Mevkii
1. Beldibi
Kemer
Antalya
Tel.: (242) 824 0000
Fax: (242) 824 9755
info@portroyalantalya.com
www.sungatehotels.com
Aydın region
Umut Thermal Resort and Spa
Eski Aydın Yolu
Hasköy
Kokar Hamam Mevkii
Sarayköy
Denizli
Tel.: (258) 426 1014 and 426 1101
Fax: (258) 426 1160
www.basoglancinar.com.tr
İstanbul
Hôtel Les Ottomans
Muallim Naci Caddesi 168
Kuruçeşme
İstanbul
Tel.: (212) 359 1500
Fax: (212) 359 1540
spa@lesottomans.com
www.lesottomans.com
The Ritz-Carlton
Laveda Spa
Süzer Plaza
Elmadağ
Şişli
İstanbul
Tel.: (212) 334 4444
Fax: (212) 334 4455
www.ritzcarlton.com
Tuzla Kaplıcaları Sağlık
ve Turizm Tesisleri
Hatboyu Caddesi 1
Şifalı Sular
İçmeler
Tuzla
İstanbul 81723
Tel.: (216) 395 5386/88
Fax: (216) 395 5387
info@tuzlakaplicalari.com
www.tuzlakaplicalari.com
Bursa region
Yeni Kaplıca
Yeni Kaplıca-Karamustafa
Kaynarca Termal Otel and Baths,
Kükürtlü Mahallesi
Yenikaplıca Caddesi 6
Osmangazi
Bursa
Tel.: (224) 236 6968
Fax: (224) 234 6105
yenikaplica@e-kolay.net
www.karamustafa.com
www.yenikaplica.com
Yalova Thermal Hot Springs
Yalova Termal
Termal
Yalova
Tel.: (226) 675 7400
Fax: (226) 675 7408 and 675 7410
termal@yalovatermal.com
www.yalovatermal.com
Erzurum region
Ilıca Belediyesi Termal
Otel İşletmesi
Aziziye Caddesi
Termal Tesisler
Ilıca
Erzurum
Tel.: (442) 631 4212
www.ilicabel.gov.tr
İzmir region
Balçova Thermal Hotel
(Agamemnon Kaplıca)
Vali Hüseyin Öğütcen Caddesi 2
Balçova
İzmir
Tel.: (232) 259 0102 and 259 0277
Fax: (232) 259 0829
info@balcovatermal.com
www.balcovatermal.com
Natur-Med Thermal
Springs & Health Resort
Davutlar
Kuşadası
Tel.: (256) 657 2280
Fax: (256) 657 1868
info@naturmed.biz
www.naturmed.biz
Sheraton Çeşme Hotel,
Resort and Spa
Şifne Caddesi 35
Ilıca
Çeşme
İzmir
Tel.: (232) 723 1240
Fax: (232) 723 1856
info@sheratoncesme.com
www.sheratoncesme.com
Ladik region
Hamamayağı Tesisleri
Tel.: (362) 782 0001/02
Ordu/Fatsa region
Sarmaşık Thermal Spring (Kaplıca)
Ilıcaköyü
Fatsa
Tel.: (452) 443 5026/5294/5334
Şavşat region
Şavşat is a remote outpost in the Sahara National Park. The area is picture-postcard perfect and has many small villages that barely feature on maps but many have spring water. Pressure and flow rates are low and some are untested or not clean enough to drink.
At Çoraklı Köyü there is one thermal hot spring for bathing and waters are about 36 degrees. There is no tourist accommodation and the one small hamam in the village of 500 souls has seen better days. This is a lonely but pristine area, extremely hard to access but stunning in its stark beauty. This might be the most isolated spa in Turkey and the dolmuş (shared taxi) takes half a day to reach here.
National
