Tradition
Are you tempted by a relaxing hammam session ?
Today in Morocco, traditional and luxury establishments are side by side.
In a Moroccan medina , each district has its hammam, as well as its public oven, school and mosque.
Once a real public bath intended for hygiene, the hammam gradually loses this function, with the appearance of private bathrooms in homes.
But the practice is still very widespread.
On the women’s side:
Meriem recounts her hammam session:
“I go to the hammam, always with the same friend, about three times in a month. We go to an old beldi (traditional) hammam which is still very well maintained.
We bring our towels, gloves, black soap, pumice for the skin of the feet, our plastic mats to lay on the floor and even our buckets. The floors of the hammam are tiled and the walls in tadelakt. We enter the first room, the least hot, for a few moments to prepare the skin and body for more heat. And we go straight to the third room, the hottest. We fill our buckets with warm water, we spray ourselves and we smear ourselves with black soap.
Let it penetrate for a few minutes, before rinsing. Then begins the mutual scrub with the kiss glove.
This is the funniest moment, we laugh when we see our dead skin. We rinse during the peeling. Once the skin well rubbed, we apply a homemade preparation made of ghassoul, henna and argan oil, on the body and hair. We wait 10 minutes, we rinse again and repeat the operation. We then go into the second room for a final soap, shampoo and last rinse. Around us, some women take the opportunity to dye their hair with henna, to epilate, or to make masks on their face.
The session lasts approximately one hour.
The atmosphere is very relaxed, uninhibited and rather cheerful. Children sometimes take care of the animation. Some frolic, others play with their personal games. Women talk to each other very freely. Some of them spend several hours there. I almost never call a masseuse.”
On the men’s side:
Yassine is also a fan of the hammam:
“I go to the hammam once a week, usually on the weekend. At home I have a bathroom with shower, so I don’t go to the hammam to wash myself. But, it has remained a pleasant ritual and also allows deep skin scrub with the traditional black soap. I go there mostly alone, rarely with a friend. Almost always I call on the permanent masseur on the scene. It is a rather tonic massage with elongation of the limbs. We feel a little broken after, but the good sensations will come later!
Unless I meet a friend, I do not talk and anyway, in the men’s hammam, the atmosphere is rather calm and silent.
I come out with a towel around my head to go home without getting cold. Arrived at home, I feel very relaxed, purified, brand new and often I can’t resist a little nap.”
The Moroccan hammam has a dry heat, diffused by the floor or the bottom of the walls and not a steam bath as in the Turkish style. As we have seen, it usually consists of three gradually warm rooms.
The ritual, the religious (purification) aspect and the social function are the foundations of the hammam practice. Today, according to tradition, a bride must go to the hammam on the eve of her wedding, often with her friends, to prepare for the henna ritual.
Evolution
Responding to growing demand from travellers, many old establishments have been renovated and restored in order to accommodate a more international clientele, which could be deterred by sometimes risky hygiene. But they remain traditional and see tourists and locals mingle, to the great satisfaction of both parties.
The offer has considerably expanded in recent years in some cities like Marrakech. Several hammams, spas and luxury beauty centers have flourished. In these establishments, cocooning is guaranteed.
You are spoiled, pampered. The care which is provided and the various products are up to the high standard services they offer.
The care packages, the expertise of the staff make the difference.
Do you wish a scrub and ghassoul body mask?
A honey wrap, a scrub with desert sand, a hot stone massage or essential oil treatment?
You will be spoiled for choice.
