I have just returned from Turkey and am still under the charm. I loved everything about the country. I was seduced by the mosques, the culture, the people, the history, the antique sites, the landscape, the crafts, the food… I took over 500 photographs; I will edit and pick the most representative ones and post them with my comments in the travel section, but this will take a few days. I have one story that is “photo less” which I can post here.
I had always had fantasies about hammans and wanted to find out the truth about them, so I booked an appointment in one.
I was concerned about the proper etiquette about what to wear and what to expect. I had seen photos of people wearing bikinis, but had been told that a bathing suit would be uncomfortable. It was rather cold that evening and, as I had to walk outside to get there, I left in my street clothes…
When I got there I motioned to the attendant by the door that I wanted the hammam. He seemed unimpressed, but then asked: “massage?” When I nodded “yes”, he gestured that I should follow him up the stairs. We got to the second floor which was a dark, deserted mezzanine overlooking a pool; there were closed doors along the wall. He indicated a chair at the far end. When I got there I discovered that the place was not totally deserted. There was an old, rather seedy looking, Turkish man sitting on a chair across from mine. The attendant left without a word. I sat down, and then got up, I paced and I stopped, my nervousness increasing with every minute that passed. There were no sounds. I saw something move on the dark marble on the far wall…it might have been the reflection of what was happening in one of the treatment rooms…but I was not sure…it occurred to me that the old man might be there to catch such glimpses as he did not look like a client but, if so, his eyesight was much better than mine… At that point, my appointment time had passed and I was seriously considering walking away. I was building up the nerve to walk past the downstairs attendant and wondering if I would get charged for the treatment even if I were a no show…
At that instant one of the doors opened and a young woman came out. I recognized a girl from our group so asked her how it had gone and she groaned: “it hurt”… but she had only had a massage, NOT the full hamam experience… Still pondering whether to make a dash for the exit, another door opened and a stocky man in his sixties motioned to me to come in. I was surprised to find his previous client still in the room, getting dressed…but she thanked him effusely! Finally an encouraging sign! He did not speak English or French so we communicated with signs. He indicated that we would start with the massage and finish with the hammam. He gestured that I should get undressed and hop on the table. Thankfully he left the room for a minute so I hurried out of my clothes (save for my panties) and lied face down on the massage table. He returned and gave me a nice powerful back massage. So far everything was similar to all the massages I have had in the past save for the fact that he was a man. Then, instead of making me roll over, he made me sit in a chair. I grabbed the only towel I could find, but it was a tiny hand towel, little did I know that this prudishness would be totally obsolete in a few minutes. He massaged my neck and shoulders and then pointed towards the door. He did produce a sheet and wrapped me tightly in it. He escorted me down the hall to yet another door. This one opened onto a very hot marble paneled room. The walls were lined with marble benches and, in every corner, there were niches with faucets and buckets. He spread out my sheet and made me lie down on one of the benches. It was warm but not burning. He indicated he would be right back while tugging at his clothes… Would he come back naked I wondered…!!!? The heat was nice; I was alone in the room…very relaxed…
He came back, after a few minutes, wearing swimming trunks…PHEW!
He proceeded to fill the bucket with a mix of hot and cold water. And took out two small bowls. He used them to pour water over me, starting with the feet and moving up all the way to the head. He then slipped on an exfoliating mitt and started rubbing me, again from head to toe. He was energetic but it was not painful. Once that was over, he filled another bucket with water; I could see the water was soapy. He then pulled out of it what looked like a very long pillowcase. He twirled it around, then blew into it and closed it with his hand to make it puff up like a balloon. Next he squeezed it with his other hand which produced enormous amounts of foam. He repeated this several times until I was totally covered in bubbles. He changed mitts and started to wash me. It was the weirdest feeling to have someone washing my feet. This is something no one does to another person unless it is a parent washing a child…and having a stranger do that was unsettling. He was very matter of fact about the whole thing and I figured that he must have done it to hundreds of people so I stopped fretting about having my chest rubbed like a car hood. He massaged my back again. It was not as comfortable as previously because I was resting on a very hard surface. Once he had scrubbed me all over, he started rinsing me off with clear water. At one point his mix of water temperature changed and he splashed what felt like freezing water over me, I let out a yelp that scared him as much as the water has startled me. He quickly warmed the water and finished rinsing me with nice warm water. When he was done he handed me some towels and took me back to the massage room when he let me get dressed. I had forgotten to bring an extra pair of dry panties so I had to do without, which felt strange…. I walked quickly back to my hotel dripping panties in hand and slid into bed. Oddly enough sleep took a long time to come, this experience has a stimulating effect rather than a sedating one. Next time I will schedule this for morning.
I have since heard of other hammam experiences; some include a face washing, others include drying at the end, some are done in the presence of other clients, some massages are more violent than the one I had, some are done by women…but all in all I am very happy with the treatment I received and would gladly do this again. It is a powerful experience both physically and emotionally… just like going to Mecca, everyone should try this at least once!