REQUIREMENTS:
1 - Pestemal, an over sized tea-towel which is wrapped sarong-like around the body. Made of cotton & very absorbant.
2 - Kese, an abrasive mitt. I chose a silk one, which was the cheapest & least scratchy!
3 - Soap, the ideal here is olive oil soap which lathers up well & is good for the skin. It comes in various fragrances, and frequently has abrasive bits in it, like cinnamon bark to act as an exfoliant.
4 - Wooden clogs, these are supposed to prevent you from slipping on wet marble & are like an elevated flipflop/jandal with the strap across all the toes instead of between the first two!5- Hamam bowl, usually made of silver or copper, these are used to scoop up water to sluice or cool down.
6 - Turkish bath house, (ie; Hamam) a building with a domed roof with blister-like glass protrusions. (On close inspection they look more like pert breasts!) these let light into the Hamam & nothing else! Inside, the interior is
largely made of marble. There are a few Hamams around, but for tourists, the two that are recommended (for cleanliness reasons) are Cagaloglu, where we went first & is mentioned in the book '1000 things to do before you die", & Ceberlitas which is where I went the second time.
7 - An attendant, masseuse & body washer. They come in all shapes & sizes & wear a uniform which looks like black speedoes with matching shorts. They are MUCH stronger than they look!!!
(The attendants, not the uniform!)
It began with stripping off in one, of many cubicles set around a seating area, that was clearly designed for shorter women than I. Aside from the ceiling being just above my head, the upper third of the door was clear glass. This, in the past, would have ensured that the manager could check there was only one occupant & that she was female. In my case, they got to see how a long legged foreign white woman undresses!Wrapping my nudity up in a pestemal, the next challenge was to find wooden clogs long enough for my size 10 feet. This was not to be my Cinderella moment, so I made do with shuffling along with my heel hanging over the back of the biggest ones they had!
I was delighted to see that they had modern flush toilets. Although I have to acknowledge that this is one time I would have coped quite well if there had only been squatties!
Steaming in an ancient marble hexagonal room, with light filtering in from star shape windows cut into the domed ceiling, whilst leaning against a beautifully carved marble basin, water continuously running into it, is dreamlike! Not as intense in heat as a sauna, nor as hot as a jacuzzi, the steam was gentle but effective, and whenever the build up of heat was too much, I just dipped into that marble basin & splashed myself down with cool water!
It seemed a long wait before my 'turn' for soaping & massage came, but it was very relaxing just sitting there, letting the steam do its job, whilst observing those around me without being too obvious!!!! Unlike the men (I was to find out later) the women are totally naked during the cleanse & massage process. The women were all shapes & sizes & various styles of waxing, so I was relieved that my only peculiarity was going to be that I was long & white! They seemed to be mainly locals who knew what they were doing & were looking after themselves, or there with friends making it a more social event. It was clearly the foreigners who were having the massages & treatment.
The 'treatment' area was an enormous round raised marble SLAB on which I was to be gestured to lie, face down, on my now whipped off pestemal. The first thing I noticed was that it was heated, & then just as I am melting into it's warmth, a cold bowl of water was thrown over me.OOOOooo,... a buttock clenching moment!
The kese (silk abrasive mitt) was systmaticly wiped over me, as a scultor might use a sandpaper for that final smoothing of the surface. She covered every cm of my back to toes, more than once with frequent sluicings of warm water, before gesturing for me to roll over for the front to be scraped. Nothing was spared! When it came time for me to sit up, so that she could thoroughly do my arms, she showed me the rolls of oily gunk that was being scraped off my skin. It was GROSS! This process concluded with being led by the hand across the slippery marble to one of the basins, where I was thoroughly sluiced down.A wonderful sensation. (Although, unlike other people, I had to bend at the knees, so she could reach everywhere! My attendant was half my size, it would have been very amusing for anyone watching!!)
The soaping down was a very pleasurable experience. They really like lots of lather & it was a massage-like soapy wash, with warm rinsing. She used some sort of cloth & then her hands. When it was time to roll over for the front to be washed, I tried to get a good look at the ceiling, until drips of condensation started dripping into my contact lenses! I had to close them again anyway she was washing my face & even cleaned behind my ears! I havent been so thoroughly cleaned by another person since I was a very little girl!!
A final rinse & then I was sat down beside the marble basin for my shampoo. This procedure led me to wonder whether any previous clients had suffocated from soap sud asphyxiation. It started innocently enough, my hair was shampooed with a coconut smelling shampoo, making LOTS of suds & again a wonderful massaging motion was used. It felt like heaven until...without warning she smothered my face in the suds as well. Soap was in my mouth & up my nose, I couldnt breathe & she just left it there! I WAS GOING TO DIE!!!!! The sluicing off didnt come soon enough, but even that was scarey, continuous sluicing, not giving me a chance to catch a breath & there was so much water I thought my contact lenses were going to wash away in the tide.
If I thought that was the worse I was going to experience...I was wrong!
The full body massage came next. The back & shoulder massage was firm but terrific & I would loved her to keep working on those shoulders a bit longer, but no, she had to attack the legs. Thighs were fine, but oh my, the pain in my calves! Those fingers were STRONG and every muscle in them seemed to be drilling their way into my calves & then feet.And she didnt let up! I wondered whether I would be able to walk after this! When my eyes flew open during the most painful moments, I noticed how many women had tattoos. One even had dog paw prints tattooed up her side!
I dont know how long the massage went for, it was certainly value for money, but I was glad when the legs were finally left alone! The whole experience was completed by a gentle washing down with warm water & then I was instructed to put on my clogs, before I was led across the marble to the drying room. She took a towel & dried me down! It was very difficult to balance on the shoes whilst she was doing this, so at one point I had to grab her around the waist to steady myself!! Then back to my cubicle I was led to dry off & dress.
My experience was a good one...except for the legs & would happily do it again, but choose a head & shoulder massage instead of the full body one. The boys had had a very painful experience in the mens section. They felt that the masseur had been purposefully brutal & they would never do it again!
Since the above, I have been to the Cemerlitas Turkish Baths. It was COMPLETELY different, in that it was more tourist orientated ie; a pair of disposable knickers were included in the price, along with the mitt & we were given different coloured tokens for what procedure we had paid for, then it was like being in a processing plant, all quick, impersonal & not much time to steam & enjoy. The head massage was brilliant, but it was off in another room and by an efficient young woman in a white coat!. Almost attempting to be like a 'spa treatment' but not quite getting there.
Of the two, I preferred the first...inspite of the pain! And after both....my skin is just so incredibly silky, that I am definitely taking one of those mitts home!!
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