By Anton Constantinou
My curious nose takes me everywhere, including to Istanbul: Turkey’s largest city and cultural centre. A major gateway between East and West and the former capital of four empires. I knew I was in for a sightseeing treat - Istanbul has it all. But what I wasn’t prepared for were its olfactory delights, including a hamam experience that would literally have my nose doing summersaults.
Read on for my olfactory guide to Istanbul.
Diesel, coal and street food
The first thing that hits you when you arrive in Istanbul is the smell of diesel - its pungent fumes a heady reminder of how densely populated the city is. Most cars in the city seem to run on the stuff, so its smell is everywhere. Coal is another noticeable smell. Istanbul is a heavy user of coal and features not one but multiple power stations that produce the stuff.
Joining them in the air is the ever-present smell of street food: a mixture of charred corn, baked bread and BBQ'd meat. The street food here is excellent, especially the charred corn, and is sold all over the city, including in its markets.
The bazaars
Istanbul’s markets (or bazaars) are a centre point for many smells and combine the fragrant aromas of tea, coffee, spices, dried fruit and essential oils. Many of its vendors sell these items side-by-side, so the smells overlap in the air.
Traces of Istanbul’s Ottoman past are everywhere in the bazaars. From the shops selling gold, to the merchants flogging decadent looking perfume, a certain opulence runs through the markets. A tale of times gone by when Sultans ruled, tastes were lavish and fashions grand. The markets’ perfumes are particularly regal looking, in their tall, glass princely bottles. Their musky wafts thick and sumptuous smelling. More on perfume in the next section.
Kolonya or Turkish Cologne
The Ottomans (who ruled Turkey for some six centuries) were great lovers of perfume and would use it for ceremonies, treatments and religious rituals.
Most used rose water for perfuming, but in the 16th century a different fragrance took centre stage in Turkey - Kolonya. A scented liquid combining lemon, bergamot, orange and rosemary, nowadays known as Turkish Cologne.
Kolonya was Turkey’s answer to Eau de Cologne (the original ‘citrus scent’ from Germany) and replaced rose water as the main fragrance choice for Turks. Istanbul would introduce me to this scent on several occasions, including in its pharmacies, where the fragrance is as common a sight as toothpaste.
A tonic for the nose, Kolonya is a refreshing scent that provides a photorealistic impression of citrus, herbs and florals. As ubiquitous as it is though, it’s not the only fragrance that garner’s one’s attention in Istanbul. Cheap knock-offs of well known perfumes are just as widespread.
Fake perfume
If there’s one thing Turkey’s known for, it’s fake goods, including fake perfume. In Istanbul, fake perfume is as common in the shops as it is on the streets and the problem has led to many a bust.
In 2014, Turkish police seized 118,000 bottles of counterfeit perfume from a raid in Istanbul, and a further million again in 2020. In 2022, police carried out yet another raid, this time seizing 80,000 bottles of the stuff.
I won’t pretend to know what fake perfume smells like (to the best of my knowledge, I’ve only smelt the real stuff). All I know is, Istanbul’s the place to get it. You don’t have to look that far to find it - people push perfume here on street corners, so it’s basically everywhere.
The Bosphorus
Other smells that greet your nose in Istanbul include the Bosphorus and fish. The Bosphorus is a natural strait or waterway that runs through Istanbul and forms a boundary between its European and Asian sides.
Like most waterways, the Bosphorus has a dank, fishy smell and the best way to experience it is to walk across Galata Bridge - which connects Istanbul’s markets to its shopping streets. As you walk across the bridge, you’re hit with the familiar odour of salt water (not the sea water kind, more a cross between sea water and river water) and the sight of fisherman.
Fishermen are a common sight on Galata Bridge and can be found at all hours of the day casting their rods and (occasionally) reeling in some catches. As you walk by the anglers, you’ll often see fish in their buckets. Little plankton like things that look more like bait than food.
Now on to my favourite olfactory experience in Istanbul…
Hamam time
Of all the olfactory experiences in Istanbul, a visit to a hamam is easily the most exciting. A rejuvenating scrub and massage, rich in foamy soap and uplifting essential oils.
A hamam is a Turkish steam bath and a place of public bathing. A source of therapy and cleansing in a domed building similar to a Roman bathhouse.
Many hamams in Istanbul are centuries old and date back to the Ottoman era, including the one I visited - Cagaloglu Hamam.
A typical hamam begins with a hot room rest. A sauna experience, where your pores open and your nostrils fill with damp, humid air. Next comes the rubbing with a kese: a one-use glove, used for scrubbing dead skin. Followed by a relaxing bubble bath.
The bubble bath is probably my favourite part as it doubles as a massage and incorporates local soaps and oils that smell fantastic.
A hamam will usually conclude with tea and treats. Turkish tea in most cases, accompanied by fruits, nuts, baklava and Turkish Delight.
A hamam isn’t just a wash and a scrub; it's a sensory rollercoaster. A feast for the nose. And indeed, the standout moment of my trip.
So, there you have it. My olfactory guide to Istanbul. Have you visited Istanbul? What smells did you notice on your trip? Leave a comment below and keep the discussion going.
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