Turkish Massage Types Explained: Classic, Balinese, Thai, Deep Tissue and the Sultan Ritual

Spa menus tend to list massages as if the names were self-explanatory. They are not. Here is what differs between them in practice — the pressure, the technique, and what each one is genuinely useful for.

Classic oil massage

Oil: yes. Pressure: light to medium. Best for: nothing in particular hurts.

Long, flowing strokes over the whole body at an even tempo. It opens circulation without forcing anything and settles the nervous system — which is a polite way of saying most people stop thinking about their inbox somewhere in the first ten minutes. If you have never had a massage before, this is the one to start with.

Balinese massage

Oil: yes, aromatic. Pressure: medium. Best for: whole-body tiredness.

Closer to the classic than the name suggests, but with more thumb and palm work layered into the long strokes, and a distinctly warmer, heavier feel. It covers the whole body including head and scalp. Choose it over the classic if you want something that is still unhurried but has more substance to it.

Thai massage

Oil: none. Pressure: firm, plus stretching. Best for: stiffness and legs.

The outlier. No oil, performed with you clothed in loose wear, and built around assisted stretching and pressure along the body's lines rather than gliding over muscle. The therapist uses hands, forearms, elbows and sometimes feet, and moves your limbs into positions you would not reach alone.

It is the best answer we have for legs and feet after days of walking a city, and for a lower back that has gone stiff rather than sore. It is also the least "relaxing" in the conventional sense — you participate. People either love it immediately or never book it again.

Deep tissue (medikal masaj)

Oil: yes. Pressure: firm and specific. Best for: one thing that has hurt for a long time.

Instead of covering the whole body evenly, the therapist spends the session working down into particular knots — typically neck, shoulders and upper back, the places a desk and a phone put them. Slow, deliberate and considerably more intense than the others.

It should feel uncomfortable in a productive way and never make you brace or hold your breath. Say something during the session if it does; afterwards is too late. Some tenderness for a day or two is normal.

A note on the name: it is listed as medikal masaj in Turkish, but it is not a medical treatment and it does not replace one. Pain that has lasted months, especially with numbness or pain travelling down an arm or a leg, is a reason to see a doctor first.

The Sultan ritual

Oil: yes. Pressure: varies through the session. Best for: when you want all of it.

Our longest and most complete programme — several techniques combined in a single session, designed around a full reset rather than around one complaint. It is the one to choose for an anniversary or the end of a long trip, and the one to skip if you have a specific shoulder problem and ninety minutes, because deep tissue will do more for that shoulder.

How long to book

• 40 minutes: enough for one region. Fine for neck and shoulders, not enough for a whole body.
• 60 minutes: the sensible default. Whole body with time to spend on the problem area.
• 90 minutes: whole body without the therapist having to ration anything. Necessary for the Sultan ritual.

Prices in İzmir

At Maissha Spa, forty minutes starts at 1.800₺ for classic or Balinese and 2.100₺ for Thai or deep tissue; sixty minutes at 2.300₺ and 2.800₺ respectively. The Sultan ritual starts at 3.600₺. Adding the hamam scrub and foam to any of these is around 600₺ more and includes unlimited sauna and pool. Current prices for all three durations are on the homepage.

Still not sure

There is a four-question guide on our homepage that asks where it hurts, how long it has been like that, what pressure you want and how much time you have, then names one treatment and explains why it picked it. It takes about fifteen seconds and is more useful than a price list.