Çekirge Thermal Baths, Bursa (Eski Kaplıca and Yeni Kaplıca)

What to expect

Bursa was a spa town long before it was the first Ottoman capital. Hot springs rise along a fault line at the foot of Uludağ, on the city’s western side, and the district built around them is Çekirge. Pliny the Younger, Roman governor of the province, wrote to Emperor Trajan about building baths at Prusa, as Bursa was then called. Under the Ottomans the springs fed a string of domed hamams, and several are still working today.

This is not one pool. It is a neighbourhood of bathhouses and thermal hotels, and the way to visit is to pick a historic hamam, pay at the door and spend an hour or two in a steaming marble hall. Water from the springs is piped straight into the baths, and hotels in the area pipe it into room bathrooms too. Expect a mild smell of sulphur.

Eski Kaplıca (“Old Bath”) is the oldest. It was built in the reign of Sultan Murad I, probably from 1371 or soon after, as part of his mosque complex in Çekirge, on the foundations of a Byzantine bath. The hot room is a domed hall with a round pool about 7 m (23 ft) across, ringed by eight columns topped with reused Byzantine capitals. Water runs from a lion-head spout into a basin and down into the pool. A changing hall was added under Bayezid II; its 1511 inscription is at the women’s entrance. The bath is run by the neighbouring Kervansaray hotel.

Yeni Kaplıca (“New Bath”) is the other big name. The operator says it was built in 1552 by Grand Vizier Rüstem Pasha on the orders of Süleyman the Magnificent. Its cold room sits under two lead-covered domes about 12 m (39 ft) across, and the halls keep their original blue and turquoise tiles. The same company runs the nearby Kaynarca women’s bath and the Kara Mustafa baths and hotel.

Uludağ University also runs a physical therapy centre using the thermal water, including the old Kükürtlü bath.

Getting there

Bursa lies south of Istanbul across the Sea of Marmara. Most people come by road over the Osmangazi Bridge or by sea, on ferries from Istanbul to Mudanya or Güzelyalı, then continue by bus or taxi into the city.

Inside Bursa, Çekirge is west of the old centre.

• Eski Kaplıca is in the Kükürtlü neighbourhood, next to the Kervansaray hotel.
• Yeni Kaplıca is at Kükürtlü Mahallesi, Yenikaplıca Caddesi No:6, Osmangazi, about 1.3 km (0.8 miles) east. Reviewers on the operator’s site mention free parking at the entrance.

City buses and taxis reach both. The baths are at street level, so there is no walk beyond the car park.

When to go

The baths are open all year and every day, with one exception noted below. Autumn and winter are the classic hamam seasons: Bursa is cool and damp, Uludağ is snowy, and a hot marble hall makes more sense than in July.

Tuesdays are “public day” (halk günü) at Yeni Kaplıca and Kaynarca, with a lower price, except from June 15 to September 15 and on official holidays. Expect more locals then.

Weekends are the busiest time. If you want a quieter hall, go on a weekday morning. Yeni Kaplıca’s men’s bath opens at 05:00.

Prices and booking

Yeni Kaplıca (2026 price list, VAT included)

Men’s bath:

• Entry ₺500; Tuesday public day ₺430
• Rest room with a bed ₺750
• Kese (scrub) ₺550; foam massage ₺650; oil massage ₺800
• Children 6 to 10 ₺250; under 6 free

Family cabins (1.5 hours):

• Luxury cabin, upper floor, 2 people ₺1,500; extra person ₺750
• Luxury cabin, lower floor, 2 people ₺1,300; extra person ₺650
• Kese in the cabin ₺600; foam massage ₺700; child 6 to 10 ₺250; towel ₺150

Kaynarca women’s bath: entry ₺500, Tuesday ₺430, kese ₺550, foam massage ₺650.

Kara Mustafa family baths: ₺600 an hour for one person and ₺750 for two, a little less on Tuesdays.

Hours: Yeni Kaplıca men’s bath 05:00-23:00. Yeni Kaplıca family section, Kaynarca women’s bath and Kara Mustafa family baths 07:00-23:00. Kara Mustafa women’s bath 08:00-16:00; the operator lists it as closed on Mondays.

Eski Kaplıca has no current price list online. A September 2026 survey of Bursa hamam prices listed it with men’s, women’s and family sections but could not get prices. The building and hotel were put up for foreclosure sale in 2017 and again in 2019. Call the Kervansaray hotel or simply walk in to check.

Turkish prices change often, sometimes more than once a year. Bring cash as a backup.

Bathing culture

A Bursa thermal hamam works much like any Turkish bath, with hot spring water in place of boiler water.

• Separate halls. Men and women bathe apart. Couples and families who want to bathe together rent a private family cabin (aile banyosu) with its own tub.
• The peştamal. You get a thin cotton wrap at the door. In the men’s hall, keep it around your waist the whole time, including in the pool. Full nudity in the men’s hall is not acceptable.
• The routine. Sit in the hot room and sweat, pour water over yourself from the marble basins (kurna), then lie down for a kese scrub and a foam wash if you paid for one. Finish in the cooler changing hall with tea.
• Basins and pools. Do not use soap in the pool or let soapy water run into a basin. Rinse at the basin, away from the pool.
• Time. Most people stay an hour or two. Pay for the scrub at the desk, and the attendant (tellak in the men’s hall, natır in the women’s) will find you.

Where to stay nearby

Çekirge is full of thermal hotels, many with spring water piped to the rooms. Kara Mustafa Termal Otel, run by the Yeni Kaplıca company, has 15 rooms with thermal baths; its 2026 list gives a double room with breakfast at ₺2,500. The Kervansaray hotel stands beside Eski Kaplıca. Central Bursa, a short taxi ride east, has a wider range of hotels near the covered bazaars.

Safety notes

• Heat: Hamam hot rooms and thermal pools are hotter than they feel at first. Drink water, take breaks in the cooler hall and get out if you feel faint.
• Slippery marble: Wet marble floors are slick. Wear the clogs or flip-flops offered and walk slowly.
• Health conditions: If you have heart problems or high blood pressure, or are pregnant, ask a doctor before a long hot soak.
• Children: Under-6s go free at Yeni Kaplıca, but hot halls are hard on small children. Keep visits short.

Nearby stops worth adding

The Hüdavendigar (Murad I) Mosque, part of the same complex as Eski Kaplıca, is a few minutes’ walk away. The Muradiye complex, with its Ottoman royal tombs, is between Çekirge and the centre. In the old city, the Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami), the Green Mosque and Green Tomb and the silk bazaar at Koza Han are the essentials. In winter, the cable car up Uludağ takes you to snow.