I woke up bright and early yet again, and so arrived at the Cagaloglu Hamami right after its opening time of 8 am. The first thing I noticed was that the main entrance (for men only) was a lot more impressive than the much smaller Ladies' Entrance around the corner.
Men's Entrance
Ladies' Entrance
After I picked and paid for my service, I was shown to a small, utilitarian dressing room that doubled as locker, and changed into my pestemal (a large cloth) and slippers. I was then taken to the hot room - it's a large marble room with basins and taps all around the walls and a large raised platform in the middle, lit by rays of sunshine coming through openings in the domed roof. The older lady helping me did not speak much English, but instructed me to "Wash" then gestured towards the platform and "Sleep". She left the room, saying she'd be back in 15 mins.
The lady returned as promised and washed herself and changed into a swimsuit. Then she sat next to me on the platform and using a small soapy mitt (called a kase) proceeding to rub and exfoliate my entire body. It was a slightly odd sensation, but still pleasant. We had a limited chat - I learned in our time in Egypt and Jordan that with women who don't share very much in common with me (including language), the conversation invariably centers around children. She has 3 children, 12 grandchildren and a great-grandchild on the way!
After that, she motioned for me to move over to the marble basin and she washed my hair and gave me a soapy neck and shoulder massage. The only part of this I didn't like was the washing part where she would dump bowl after bowl of water over my head. You have to understand that I don't usually get my face wet in the shower!
After this, I was done - I returned to the locked dressing room, dressed and was ready to go. I felt extremely refreshed and happily walked down to the Grand Bazaar to watch all the shopkeepers set up shop for the day.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment