Hamam

on tuesday i went to the turkish (steam) bath, the so called "hamam", with 2 other girls from the hostel.

we took our clothes off (you can leave ur slip on if you want to) in seperate cabines, then got shoes (those clogs i suppose IP) and a "peştemal" (cloth to cover the body and to lie on) and went inside the hot room. really no kidding, it was -freakin!- HOT inside. you gotta pour water on you once in a while during waiting, otherwise youll collapse i guess...

since it was only a regular hamam in the neighborhood there wasnt too much decoration with any gold or silver on the walls, but still it was impressing. a big marble stone in the center of the room, above the somewhat huge dome with a few wholes on it where beams of light fall down (hello atmosphere!!*_*), on the side washbasins with cold and hot water and simply all the marble everywhere and the silence was stunning.

so we washed ourselves in front of the basins and after a while two turkish women came inside. we lied down on the marble stone (hooooooot!!) and then they scrubbed and washed us one by one. the scrubbing went with a rough-textured glove ("kese"), removing all the dead skin on your body. afterwards they poured water on us again and then we moved to another room where it wasnt that hot anymore but warm. weve been washed with soap there (so much foam aahh ID) and had a little massage while washing, it was so great and soooooo relaxing! forgot everything around me~

so, this fun lasted maybe 1 1/2hours and cost us 25lira, not that pompously, but why pay like 80lira for a hamam in sultanahmet (the tourist center) when you can also enjoy the silence and authenticy in the smaller one?

so, take care guys, it was a really great experience, a must-do when coming to turkey i guess!

blob!

die suu.