Marrakech Hammam - The Middle Eastern Spa Tradition
Heat in North Africa has a way to imbue in you leaving you tired and drained at the end of the day. Travel around Marrakech desert dust gets in your face and skin. Some folks see the need to make frequent stops in bars and cafes just to take a break and refresh. Some take a short nap and a cold shower to rejuvenate their body heat and exhaustion.
They did not know that the smartest thing to do would be to visit the hammam Marrakech. Your visit to Morocco would be complete without experiencing the hammam or bath house which is what I consider a truly unique cultural experience. It is the counterpart of the Middle East that we know as the spa.
Now, if you stay in one of the luxury riads or hotels in Marrakech, chances are, they would have their own steam which is private property. You can opt for a scrub down your hotel is boring, or take the true path and experience the chance to meet and socialize with the locals and participate in one of their customs to a house Bathhouse. I would recommend it.
So my husband and I went to check Les Bains de Marrakech is said to be one of the best Marrakech hammam. The interior was beautiful! I would say it was a very fun and unique experience for us. In Muslim tradition, men and women are different and we were separated at the door sections.
At first I was a little self-conscious about being naked in front of these strangers. We were asked to strip down to our underwear. Women can either wear a bikini, lingerie, or nothing at all. We were both given a bucket of supplies and were then taken to the steam rooms full of old Marrakech hammam.
It then asked me to lie down as my body doused with bucket after bucket of hot water lady, then she rubbed the soap (which I later learned was eucalyptus) all over my body and told me to wait for about 15 minutes. The Marrakech hammam lady then came back with this glove treatment they call a kese and cleaned every part of my body. The idea is to rub the dead skin off your body and I watched it all fall dead skin!
After you have finished rubbing me, she washed me again and prepared me for a relaxing massage. She used this fragrant oil massage that felt really good on the skin. I guess it's because of all the washing I had that made me feel spotless!
After about an hour of cleaning, washing and mixing, all that was left to do was to rinse me ceremoniously dumping buckets of water to rinse off. I certainly felt relaxed and rejuvenated after this and I was ready for a new adventure Marrakech. My skin was like a baby!
Many people go to Morocco, but not much experience this pleasure that is Marrakech Hammam. One tip though, it is not wise to go to the hammam on Thursday evening or Friday, which is the Muslim holy day since the place is usually packed. It would also be a good thing to know if where you want to go to separate swimming hours for men and women which impose some steam .......
Heat in North Africa has a way to imbue in you leaving you tired and drained at the end of the day. Travel around Marrakech desert dust gets in your face and skin. Some folks see the need to make frequent stops in bars and cafes just to take a break and refresh. Some take a short nap and a cold shower to rejuvenate their body heat and exhaustion.
They did not know that the smartest thing to do would be to visit the hammam Marrakech. Your visit to Morocco would be complete without experiencing the hammam or bath house which is what I consider a truly unique cultural experience. It is the counterpart of the Middle East that we know as the spa.
Now, if you stay in one of the luxury riads or hotels in Marrakech, chances are, they would have their own steam which is private property. You can opt for a scrub down your hotel is boring, or take the true path and experience the chance to meet and socialize with the locals and participate in one of their customs to a house Bathhouse. I would recommend it.
So my husband and I went to check Les Bains de Marrakech is said to be one of the best Marrakech hammam. The interior was beautiful! I would say it was a very fun and unique experience for us. In Muslim tradition, men and women are different and we were separated at the door sections.
At first I was a little self-conscious about being naked in front of these strangers. We were asked to strip down to our underwear. Women can either wear a bikini, lingerie, or nothing at all. We were both given a bucket of supplies and were then taken to the steam rooms full of old Marrakech hammam.
It then asked me to lie down as my body doused with bucket after bucket of hot water lady, then she rubbed the soap (which I later learned was eucalyptus) all over my body and told me to wait for about 15 minutes. The Marrakech hammam lady then came back with this glove treatment they call a kese and cleaned every part of my body. The idea is to rub the dead skin off your body and I watched it all fall dead skin!
After you have finished rubbing me, she washed me again and prepared me for a relaxing massage. She used this fragrant oil massage that felt really good on the skin. I guess it's because of all the washing I had that made me feel spotless!
After about an hour of cleaning, washing and mixing, all that was left to do was to rinse me ceremoniously dumping buckets of water to rinse off. I certainly felt relaxed and rejuvenated after this and I was ready for a new adventure Marrakech. My skin was like a baby!
Many people go to Morocco, but not much experience this pleasure that is Marrakech Hammam. One tip though, it is not wise to go to the hammam on Thursday evening or Friday, which is the Muslim holy day since the place is usually packed. It would also be a good thing to know if where you want to go to separate swimming hours for men and women which impose some steam .......
