Wellness in Alanya

Wellness in Alanya means the hammam first of all, and it works less like a spa salon than like a sequence of rooms. You start in the warm chamber, heating up on the marble göbek taşı slab in the middle of the hall, then comes the kese scrub with a coarse mitt that lifts the top layer of skin, then the foam massage, where soap is whipped inside a cotton bag and poured over you entirely. It ends with cool water and tea in the resting room. The full circuit takes an hour and a half to two hours.

Local programmes often add an oil massage and an aloe vera treatment to the basic set — the gel goes on after the scrub, when skin is at its most sun-sensitive, which is practical in a beach town. Some hammams keep separate men's and women's halls, others take mixed groups, in which case guests come in swimwear. The attendants in a Turkish bath are called tellak and natır; they work alongside the guest rather than leaving them alone.

Practical notes. The peştemal towel and slippers are usually handed out on site, so you only bring swimwear and a change of underwear. Going straight to the beach afterwards is a poor idea: steamed skin burns faster than usual, which is why the session is often booked for the evening. Hotel transfer is included in nearly every Alanya programme, and the length and content of the treatments are worth confirming at booking — the range is wide, from a short session to a full spa day.