World famous Hollywood actor John Travolta came to Istanbul over the weekend for a short break.
Travolta arrived with his private plane and stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel in the historic district of Sultanahmet. John Travolta toured the city all day and also took a bath in the historic Galatasaray Hamam (oldest Turkish bath since 1481). The bath personnel (tellak), allowed Travolta to enter through the back door to stay away from cameras, were surprised by his attitude. He stayed 2 hrs and then tipped each tellak 100 euro.
Travolta left the bath by the front door and greeted press members. He said, “Come, I am not there, I am here. You can take my photo.” He did not create a commotion and left for his hotel after posing for photos and shaking hands.
John Travolta best known for his leading roles in films such as Saturday Night Fever, Grease, and Pulp Fiction. Currently John Travolta voices Bolt an animated movie about a dog and Miley Ray Cyrus voices Peggy in ‘Bolt’ which is playing in theaters at the moment.
Recently also Kate Moss was in Istanbul at a Turkish bath.
The hamam, is not exclusive to men only. Being social centers, in the Ottoman Empire, hamams were quite abundant. Integrated in daily life, they were centers of social gatherings, populated on almost every occasion with traditional entertainment and ceremonies, such as before weddings, high-holidays, celebrating newborns, beauty trips etc.
You haven’t visited Istanbul if you didn’t visit a Turkish bath.
