Even before I came to Turkey, I had heard about the Turkish “hamam” where Turks traditionally came to bathe when facilities or water was scarce. These days everyone, of course, has private bathing facilities; however, the hamam remains a living tradition.
After much searching, I finally located the bath that was recommended in my guidebook. I started to go into the main entrance, but astutely realized that something was amiss when I looked ahead of me and saw a big man wearing only a small towel. After locating the side-entrance, for women, I walked into a big room with a domed ceilings with small cubby-hole rooms ringing it. Although my Turkish is getting better, I couldn’t understand any of the bathing vocabulary words, so I assented to whatever the woman in charge was offering; she cleaned out one of the side rooms, and gave me the key. I stored my clothes in there and wrapped myself in the cloth provided.
Back in the main waiting room were about 5 women sitting and chatting. I was led through a small door into a steam room with a large marble slab in the middle. The domed ceiling admitted light through small holes in the shapes of stars and moons. The attendant motioned me to a faucet and bucket where I was to wash. As I did so, another bather offered me a piece of fruit she was eating (nar in Turkish, but I don’t know the English equivalent). All communication was done in Turkish, as no one spoke English.
After one of the women there washed my hair (I’m not sure if that was part of the admission price, or just a neighborly thing), I went out into the main room where I was directed to one of the larger cubby-hole rooms. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but the purpose became evident when the attendant showed up with a ball of wax. Let’s just say that Turkish women abhor body hair, and seek to remove it whenever possible. After a couple minutes of gritting my teeth, I finally pleaded “yapma” (a very useful Turkish word that is the negative of the verb “to make” command form, but actually works as “stop” does in English).
Still recovering from my near-death waxing experience, I was motioned back to the steam room where I lay on the slab while the attendant scrubbed me with a coarse sponge for about 15 minutes. That part actually felt good. I never realized how much dead skin was on my body until it was all removed! I was then sent back to my faucet/bucket where I was able to rinse and relax.
Advice for people visiting Turkey: definitely go to a hamam, it is a wonderful experience; however, be sure to brush up on your Turkish bathing vocabulary, especially the words for “no wax”.
