Ok so I know what a bathhouse and a sauna is, though in my experience I've only come across them in places like gyms and public pools. I've heard stories about things like Turkish bathhouses and how they're places men went to get off with other men, but not sure on how true that is or if it's just an orientalist trope. But what exactly are gay bathhouses and saunas? How do they work?

Are they places where you go too relax and hook up with guys? Do the people who work there help please you? Are they kind of like a bordello? Are they legal?

On the one hand I'm curious to visit one, but on the other I'm scared that it's shady. And if paying for sex is part of the experience then I don't think they're for me. Not that I'm aware of any where I live (Portugal).