Dir.: Ferzan Ozpetek; Script: Ferzan Ozpetek, Stefano Tummolini; Phot.: Pasquale Mari; Ed.: Mauro Bonanni; Mus.: Pivio, Aldo de Scalzi; Cast: Alessandro Gassman, Francesca d'Aloja, Carlo Cecchi, Halil Ergün, Serif Sezer, Mehmet Gunsur, Basak Koklukaya; Prod.: Marco Risi, Maurizio Tedesco, Sorpasso Film, Viale Angelico 35, 00195 Rome (Italie), tél.: (6) 372 91 98/45 84 fax: (6) 372 30 59; Sales: SACIS, Via Teulada 66, 00195 Rome (Italie), tél.: (6) 374 981, fax: (6) 372 34 92 .

Francesco and Marta run a successful interior design firm in Rome, but while their business is thriving, their marriage is on the rocks. Marta, a dynamic woman who feels underrated and neglected by her husband, begins a secret affair with their mutual friend and partner, Paolo. One day Francesco receives a letter from the Turkish Embassy in Rome informing him that his Aunt Anita has died and has left him some property in Turkey. Francesco hadn't seen his aunt in many years but decides to travel to Istanbul to oversee the disposition of the estate. Once there, he is surprised to discover that the property is actually a hamam, a traditional Turkish bath, and this is one of the few hamams in the city that are still in operation. Gradually, after making the acquaintance of the hamam's custodian Osman, his exuberant wife Perran and their beautiful son and daughter, Mehmet and Fusun, Francesco begins to warm to the place. He learns from her letters and from her friends that his aunt was a remarkable woman who had read and travelled widely. Encouraged by Osman, Francesco decides to remain in Turkey to restore the hamam. Marta, who by now has decided to confess her infidelity with Paolo and officially end her marriage, decides to visit Francesco in Istanbul to discuss the matter. There, to her great surprise, she finds that Francesco is a changed man, thoroughly transformed by his surroundings. And the surprises don't end there...