On booking my flight to Marrakech there was one thing I was certain of, I was going to have a hammam massage. Having never had a proper massage before and knowing I was going to need to get at least semi naked there was only one other holiday goer eager to join me, my best friend Teen.
After spending a long day touring the souks we decided to take the plunge. Having moved riads half way through the holiday we headed back to our original riad within which the hammam spa was located. Our lovely female masseuse got the steam going and told us we could just go topless if that would make us more comfortable. A perfect compromise, or so we thought. After chilling in the steam for some 15 minutes and having our hair washed with henna, we took it in turns to lie face down for the scrub to commence. It started well, using a wet glove with a texture similar to sandpaper and an array of herbal concoctions I was scrubbed from head to lower back, being shown every few minutes the dead skin that was being erased from my body. Upon reaching my lower back the masseuse whipped off my bikini bottoms and began to scrub in places I dare not speak of. Turning me onto my back she continued with the same vigour, travelling from head to toe making sure every part of my body was clean. That’s right, EVERY part of my body, whilst Teen sat at my feet, staring straight ahead, quietly chuckling to herself, as I had done to her.
After both going through this slightly traumatic yet strangely enjoyable experience Teen and I stood in the steam, naked as the day we were born to be jet washed down with freezing cold water.
We said our thank you's, left a generous tip (she had of course seen things I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy) and left passing awkward looks across to each other, unable to deny how gloriously soft our skin felt. Walking back to the second riad through a sea of Moroccan men, clutching our underwear in our hands wasn’t the most comfortable of moments, however making everyone feel my skin when I got back certainly was!
SURVIVAL TIP:
Go all out. Thinking back if Teen and I had got naked from the very start, the hammam experience probably wouldn’t have seemed so weird. However the comedy element was certainly worthwhile!
After spending a long day touring the souks we decided to take the plunge. Having moved riads half way through the holiday we headed back to our original riad within which the hammam spa was located. Our lovely female masseuse got the steam going and told us we could just go topless if that would make us more comfortable. A perfect compromise, or so we thought. After chilling in the steam for some 15 minutes and having our hair washed with henna, we took it in turns to lie face down for the scrub to commence. It started well, using a wet glove with a texture similar to sandpaper and an array of herbal concoctions I was scrubbed from head to lower back, being shown every few minutes the dead skin that was being erased from my body. Upon reaching my lower back the masseuse whipped off my bikini bottoms and began to scrub in places I dare not speak of. Turning me onto my back she continued with the same vigour, travelling from head to toe making sure every part of my body was clean. That’s right, EVERY part of my body, whilst Teen sat at my feet, staring straight ahead, quietly chuckling to herself, as I had done to her.
After both going through this slightly traumatic yet strangely enjoyable experience Teen and I stood in the steam, naked as the day we were born to be jet washed down with freezing cold water.
We said our thank you's, left a generous tip (she had of course seen things I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy) and left passing awkward looks across to each other, unable to deny how gloriously soft our skin felt. Walking back to the second riad through a sea of Moroccan men, clutching our underwear in our hands wasn’t the most comfortable of moments, however making everyone feel my skin when I got back certainly was!
SURVIVAL TIP:
Go all out. Thinking back if Teen and I had got naked from the very start, the hammam experience probably wouldn’t have seemed so weird. However the comedy element was certainly worthwhile!
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