Visiting the hammam

After spending the day exploring the medina, Ingrid, Alex, and I went to our Hammam appointment near the blue gate. At the entrance, Alex was taken to the men's section while we were invited upstairs to the women's section. We had booked a private treatment, so we didn't have the full, communal marrocan experience, as it did not include the full-body rhassoul clay mask.

Ingrid and I were led to room with a square, hot water basin in the middle and marble benches along the walls. It felt and looked like a sauna, only with marble and tile instead of wood.

Raja, our appointed Hammam lady, gave us single-wear thongs and instructed us to undress and lie down on the warm benches. She then proceeded to pour buckets of warm water on our bodies and wash us with black soap. Next, she scrubbed our skin with a scrubbing glove - so rigorously that we had bits of dead skin coming off our bodies.

She sang as she worked and we mainly communicated through gestures and body language. In general, the atmosphere was very relaxed and intimate in a friendly way - unlocking childhood memories of being bathed - especially when she washed and braided my hair.

Once our skin had been thoroughly cleaned and peeled, she applied the rhassoul body mask and left us to relax for a couple of minutes before washing it off and applying a complimentary chocolate body mask.

When we were done, we slipped into warm bathrobes and were invited to the next room to relax on the upholstered loungers and have some mint tea while we waited for Alex to finish with his treatment (he had booked an additional massage).

We all felt very happy and relaxed when we met up at the entrance and headed to the cinema cafe for dinner.Read more