Along those lines, I had definitely heard the phrase "Turkish bath" a few times, and assumed it to be a similar concept to the Roman bath: exotic, slightly barbaric, and extinct. So it surprised me to discover when I came here that the tradition of the hamam had not died out with the Ottoman Empire, and that it was possible to experience it for myself.
So why did it take me so long to actually visit one of these? Fear of the unknown. There were too many variables involved in this: what's the protocol? What do I bring with me? What do I expect when I go? How much does it cost? Am I allowed to wear clothes?
But today was a public holiday in Turkey, and so a couple of the girls in my Turkish class decided to take a trip to the hamam, which turned into all six of the girls in my Turkish class, plus my flatmate, going together on a girls' day out. One of the French girls had been to a hamam before and knew what to expect, so it was a bit less intimidating. "It's like a spa," she said. "You can get a massage, you can get waxing, you can get a pedicure, anything you want!" Perfect.
There's a really cute area of Ankara called Hamamönü that is full of restored Ottoman-era buildings and is now a comfortable district full of cheap cafes and interesting shopping. It's also the location of the historic Karacabey Hamam, which was built in 1440 and is still functioning today, and it was to this hamam that our cheerful group went today.
This is the front, which is the men's entrance. There's a separate area for women in the back. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but once you get inside you feel immediately at home. The women at the reception area were delighted to have a group of seven foreign visitors, and did their best to welcome us. First they escorted us to a large room to change into our swimsuits, complimenting our beauty all the while. After we'd changed, they handed us some towels to cover up with and we headed into the steam-filled dreamworld of the Turkish bath.
This picture isn't the hamam we went to, but it gives you an idea what they look like
The bath area itself is a large room decorated all in white marble, with a high domed ceiling and marble sinks lining the walls. In the middle is a large octagon-shaped table, big enough for a person to lie comfortably on each side. The whole place is hot and full of steam and water.
The first step of the bath is opening up your pores in the hot room. We sat on the marble benches next to the sinks, pouring basinfuls of lukewarm water over ourselves as the steam softened our skin and got us ready for the scrubdown. Time seemed to stop as our muscles relaxed and we sat around casually chatting about anything that came to mind. I was starting to think that maybe the Romans weren't as crazy as I thought.
Last night I mentioned to my students that I was going to the hamam today. They were excited that I was finally going to experience this part of traditional Turkish culture, but offered one caveat: "Don't be ashamed. You think you are a clean person, but you will discover that you're wrong. When they scrub you, lots of dirty things will come off your skin. It's normal."
Turns out my students were right. A woman came in and called us individually into the main room, where we lay on the big marble tables as attendants came to give us the greatest exfoliation of our lives. They use a rough mitt called a kese to thoroughly scrub every inch of my body, and I was completely disgusted when I finally opened my eyes and noticed that she had rubbed off what looked like nearly a quarter inch of dead skin.
After scrubbing me clear, the attendant then proceeded to give me a full-body massage while soaping me down, finishing off by washing my hair via the most lovely scalp massage you can imagine. It would have been the most relaxing experience ever if my dozings hadn't been interrupted by this woman periodically grabbing my hand and directing me to flip over.
Once we were fully rinsed off, we were sent back into the steam room, where we continued to sit and marvel at how amazingly soft and clean our skin felt, pouring water over ourselves to cool off. It really was like a magical place from another world, with the soft light and white marble creating the atmosphere of a fairy tale palace, and the echoes of water and our voices bouncing off the walls like a cave, distorting sounds enough that it was difficult to keep my mind focused.
In total, I think we were in the bath area over an hour, although I was in such a trance-like state that I honestly couldn't tell you how long it was. But we arrived at 3:30 and didn't leave until nearly 5:30. And the price for such an experience? A paltry US $15.
We finished off the day with a visit to a nearby cafe for more great conversation, delicious snacks, and lots of water to rehydrate. It was nice to spend more time with the girls from class, since our conversations are usually hindered by the fact that our Turkish teacher doesn't allow us to speak English in class. Our group included four Americans, a Korean, and two French girls, each here for different purposes and coming from different backgrounds, but united by the freakiness of being a foreigner in a vastly different country. I dearly love my Turkish friends and acquaintances, and value the time I can spend with them, but there is definitely something to be said for having time to decompress with other people who are experiencing the same thing as you.
So tomorrow it's back to work, back to teaching and getting to know as much as I can about this country, the people here, and their lives. But tomorrow I can face the day with freshly relaxed muscles and exfoliated skin, which might give me just the energy boost I need to get through a long weekend.
*PS- If you want to come visit me here in Turkey I will gladly take you to a hamam. I'm not even joking.*
The first step of the bath is opening up your pores in the hot room. We sat on the marble benches next to the sinks, pouring basinfuls of lukewarm water over ourselves as the steam softened our skin and got us ready for the scrubdown. Time seemed to stop as our muscles relaxed and we sat around casually chatting about anything that came to mind. I was starting to think that maybe the Romans weren't as crazy as I thought.
Last night I mentioned to my students that I was going to the hamam today. They were excited that I was finally going to experience this part of traditional Turkish culture, but offered one caveat: "Don't be ashamed. You think you are a clean person, but you will discover that you're wrong. When they scrub you, lots of dirty things will come off your skin. It's normal."
Turns out my students were right. A woman came in and called us individually into the main room, where we lay on the big marble tables as attendants came to give us the greatest exfoliation of our lives. They use a rough mitt called a kese to thoroughly scrub every inch of my body, and I was completely disgusted when I finally opened my eyes and noticed that she had rubbed off what looked like nearly a quarter inch of dead skin.
After scrubbing me clear, the attendant then proceeded to give me a full-body massage while soaping me down, finishing off by washing my hair via the most lovely scalp massage you can imagine. It would have been the most relaxing experience ever if my dozings hadn't been interrupted by this woman periodically grabbing my hand and directing me to flip over.
Once we were fully rinsed off, we were sent back into the steam room, where we continued to sit and marvel at how amazingly soft and clean our skin felt, pouring water over ourselves to cool off. It really was like a magical place from another world, with the soft light and white marble creating the atmosphere of a fairy tale palace, and the echoes of water and our voices bouncing off the walls like a cave, distorting sounds enough that it was difficult to keep my mind focused.
In total, I think we were in the bath area over an hour, although I was in such a trance-like state that I honestly couldn't tell you how long it was. But we arrived at 3:30 and didn't leave until nearly 5:30. And the price for such an experience? A paltry US $15.
We finished off the day with a visit to a nearby cafe for more great conversation, delicious snacks, and lots of water to rehydrate. It was nice to spend more time with the girls from class, since our conversations are usually hindered by the fact that our Turkish teacher doesn't allow us to speak English in class. Our group included four Americans, a Korean, and two French girls, each here for different purposes and coming from different backgrounds, but united by the freakiness of being a foreigner in a vastly different country. I dearly love my Turkish friends and acquaintances, and value the time I can spend with them, but there is definitely something to be said for having time to decompress with other people who are experiencing the same thing as you.
So tomorrow it's back to work, back to teaching and getting to know as much as I can about this country, the people here, and their lives. But tomorrow I can face the day with freshly relaxed muscles and exfoliated skin, which might give me just the energy boost I need to get through a long weekend.
*PS- If you want to come visit me here in Turkey I will gladly take you to a hamam. I'm not even joking.*
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