The Hammam

Several of you guys have requested that I do a blog about the hamman experience here so I've decided to be a sweetie and comply.

First of all let me explain to you what a hamman is not. It is not a room with a large bathtub where women all bathe together and you have to worry about who's peeing on you. No, not the deal. It is also not a place to feel uncomfortable, although as you are bathing in front of everyone there I get why some Americans (Mom!!!) might feel squeamish.

That being said, let me tell you about the hammam I know and love. The hamman is something I suspect all Moroccans grow up with as just a natural aspect of life. However, whappens in the hamman is unique within the normal realm of bathing. What makes it special is that, yes, it's done in front of everyone, but what also sets it apart, as far as I know, is the way you bathe.

Sure Moroccans do the usual soap and suds routine and of course wash their hair and, for women, shave their legs. But the real beauty of the hammam is the exfoliation. Once you've done your  normal wash, you lather a special soap on your body and you use a loofah glove to remove all the dead skin from your body.

Now before I get more into that let me tell you about this soap. It's golden brown in color and it's smooth and silky to the touch. It feels very luxurious to the touch and, once you've removed all your dead skin, you are literally silky. Get why I love it so much?

But let me tell you about the hammam itself, at least the one I've been to. You pay 12 dirhams (Moroccan currency) at the door and another dirham to the lady who will watch your bag containing all your clothes. Then it's off to the undressing room. After you've stripped down to your skivvies (no bra), you head to the inner part of the hammam with your water buckets and other toiletry and hammam-specific supplies in tow. The rooms have smooth concrete floors and the walls are extremely hot to the touch-the better to keep you warm my dear. After you find your spot and you've set down your bath mat you head to fill up your water buckets. See in the hamman there is no actual bath as you are probably imagining in your head. For water there are water spouts in pairs, one searing hot and the other freezing cold, around the room for you to fill your buckets. Once you have filled your bucket-which are much like large sand buckets you see children lugging at the beach-and gotten your water to a comfortable temperature you head back to your spot and start to wash. You will have a small plastic bowl to dip into the water bucket to pour the water over your head and body. Then you do your normal wash.

But let's get to the best part shall we?  The exfoliation. Of course most people do their exfoliation themselves, especially on body parts that are easily within reach. Most, however, have a friend do their backs. The exfoliation is done in a specific motion of fast down and slow up. Here's what I mean. For example, they run the loofah from their knee down the rest of their leg quickly and bring it slowly back to the knee. This technique is repeated all over the body. This is done over and over again in the same spot until all of the dead skin is removed, and believe me they leave no piece of dead skin behind and the proof is in the pudding. You can see the dead skin collecting all over people's bodies. Talk about refreshing, and maybe a little nasty at the same time, but it all gets washed down the drain, the one spot in the hammam of which everybody steers clear. That's no man's land.

But there's more to the hamman than just out-of-this-world cleanliness and silky smooth skin. Although I think wanting anything more is just being greedy.

So call me greedy. I can live with that.

I love to go to the hammam without my kids and here's why. I can sit in a nice and hot yet non-steamy room, listen to the sounds of water running out of spouts and down people's back and of course, incessant chit chat that is inevitable when you have a large grouping of women The rooms are awash in dim lighting, it's a warm and sultry atmosphere, and its one of the most primitive things I've ever seen.

Now don't get me wrong. That's not an insult to the bathing practices of Moroccans. Quite the contrary. I revel in the hamman. I love it's otherworldliness, at least to the likes of an American like me. I love that you can walk in and see women laid full out on their mats in total relaxation while their friend or mother or whomever gives them a full-body rub down with the loofah while next to them a giddy child will be body surfing along the water-slicked floor. It's a crazy sight and it reminds me that I'm not in Kansas anymore. Which was the whole point of coming to Marrakesh right?