Hillside’s Turkish Delight

Djamel, Yanika, Gliber & Moh… 13JULY24

t was back in 2008 that a barber shop opened in Carlow that went above and beyond your usual short, back and sides.

We’re talking hot towel shaves, beard trims, nasal hair waxing, the singeing of fine hair and even a facial massage.

Is it any wonder that Nizam Lamis found he was daily facing barber queues, with locals nicknaming the man with the golden scissors Paddy The Turk.

Djamel!

And that’s when a beautiful franchise was born, with Nizam going on to open over 20 barber shops across Ireland, the latest of which is sitting pretty on Hillside Road, and run by the bould Djamel.

“I was actually working with the lads in Paddy The Turk in Dun Laoghaire,” he explains, “and one of my regular customers, Phil, would come all the way from Greystones. Always got good vibes from Phil so, I decided to check out the town, and after three months of knocking on estate agents’ doors, this perfect spot on Hillside Road popped up online and it was so easy and smooth from there, it was like this was meant to be…”

As to Paddy The Turk offering far more than just a haircut, Djamel explains some of the finer details…

“The hot towel shave basically starts with massaging the face followed by five minutes of the hot towel,” he says, “before shaving the face with a razor and our special, homemade Turkish foam, then the hot towel again for another three minutes, then after shave cream and another facial massage for two or three minutes, finally finishing with a collegian spray.”

And that’s not all. They can also wax your ears, and your nostrils, and, eh, they can burn off the baby hair around the ears too…

“We call that one a Turkish barbecue,” laughs Djamel.

Open 9.30am-6pm Monday to Wednesday and Saturday, 9.30am-7pm Thursday, 9am-7pm Friday and 10am-3.30pm on Sunday, you can book your spot with Paddy The Turk here, get in touch by phone here, and follow on Instagram here or Facebook here.