John Travolta was feeling a bit bored and down at the weekend, so what better way to pick oneself up than tootle about for a while in one's own personal airplane? Yeah, that lifts the depression! And John had the mad idea of going to a Turkish bath. In Turkey. So the shaven-headed star (who has always denied rumours about his sexuality) and three 'companions' flew halfway around the world for a nice relaxing session.

John checked in at the plush Four Seasons hotel in Sultanahmet before heading out to sample the hamams of Istanbul (that's the name of the baths, not of a young Turk, I think). There, the male-only occupants sit around in various stages of undress, being massaged and having oil rubbed into their bodies while other men watch on. It's good to see that John is so confident about his sexuality that he can relax in such a way and the same goes for his companions.

I'm sure the Church of Scientology are watching closely, eyeing the electrodes and with fingers poised over the button marked 'cure', wondering how much they'll be able to get away with literally charging him.

Some wonderful pictures here.

by Ian McShane