The HAMMAM experience!

Today was amazing. Khadija & Soraya took me to the Hammam.. I can't recall the name, but begins with a K & it's the highest rated one on Trip Advisor, if you want to look it up. We went at 11 am, and I requested the Traditional Hammam ($12) and Relaxing Massage (1 hr. for ($35). Now let me set the scene - this place looks like what you'd imagine a Roman or Greek bath. The floors and walls are all marble, tables are marble, sinks and stools are marble and everything is beautifully designed & spotless. The Hammam actually took 2 hours & went like this: we first picked up a towel, were told to go into an adjoining room & remove everything but underpants. Then we took our clothes back to the counter, she put them in a locker and gave us the key and a packet of special thick pasty soap. Next we entered the sauna, used a spray nozzle to wet ourselves down, then began to smear the soap all over our bodies, sat/lay down, and steamed for awhile. This soap was supposed to release toxins through pores and soften dead skin cells. Then we sprayed the soap off and were taken to the scrub room. By now everyone was used to seeing a roomful of women naked from waist up. I was told to lay down on a table that had small holes in it for water to run through, and the attendant began scrubbing me literally from head to toe with a rough mitt, first front side, then back. The process took the greater part of an hour and you'd not believe the amount of heavy crumbly stuff that came off my body! (81 years of accumulation!) I was SHOCKED! I was hosed down and taken to the next room, seated on a small stool in front of a deep sink. She filled the sink with warm water, gave me a deep scoop to dip, and explained I was to rinse myself thoroughly then shampoo my hair. Finally, clean as a newborn from head to toe, we were given luxurious robes and taken to the massage room and given a packaged sterile thong, asked to remove the wet panties. First time for lots of things! Bliss! An hour later, I emerged truly relaxed, rested and had a cup of mint tea with K & S, then walked out the door, grabbed a cab to get us home again...............

And left my cell phone, with debit card and drivers license in the taxi!
We cancelled the card and reported the loss, but don't expect to get the phone back again. However, it IS Ramadan and everyone's on their best behavior so I'm hopeful. I have enough cash to see me home, even though K & M told me they'd provide me with however much funds I needed. Fewer photos on the iPad, but I have my camera for as many as I want to take. Just can't send them immediately.

DERN! When I get to Marrakech, I guess I'll just have to repeat the Hammam experience to reach that same level of relaxation again! 😊

We're enroute to the desert now, stopped at a hotel for lunch and hoping to use their internet.


Sent from my iPad


Sent from my iPad