Bath Time

Let me give you a little background on bathing in Morocco. During training, my host family would give me a teapot of hot water every morning and I usually managed to either wash my hair or my body by mixing it with cold water and bucket bathing. Despite this daily cleansing, I was still thrilled to see my shower when I got back to the hotel in Ouarzazate. There really is something to be said for the feeling of water flowing over you while you bathe. My village during training did not have a communal hammam, so I hadn't experienced this style of bathing.

During my site visit, I had noticed that my family had a shower, but it didn't look like it had been used recently. Today, I discovered why it goes unused - my family has a mini-hammam on the roof of the house! It is a small “room” created with a metal frame covered with plastic sheets. It is built on a small cement pad that has a space underneath for a fire. The fire heats the whole thing as well as a large basin of water, which is housed inside.

My host mom fired it up after lunch and everyone in the family got a turn. First her and my host aunt, who took the little kids in with them. Then a couple of the boys had a turn and by early evening, I joined Sumia for my first hammam experience.

Its like a steam room – very hot and humid and first you hang out for a couple minutes. Then you soap up with an olive oil based, gooey soap. Then you start scrubbing with these black mitts that are really harsh. You wouldn't believe how much skin comes off! I just hope it was all dead because it felt like quite a few layers got taken off. Sumia scrubbed my back and I scrubbed hers. We worked on our feet with pumice stones, shampooed and rinsed down. I think the whole thing took at least an hour.

I wasn't sure how the exiting of the hammam would work since we were on the roof and plenty of people could see us. I had entered and then taken my clothes off, so they were outside. I wrapped in my towel and stepped outside unsure what I was going to do. Fatima told me I could go down to my room, which is exactly what I did. I felt so refreshed and relaxed that I put my sweatpants on and hung out for a few minutes. I emerged from my room feeling like a whole new person!

I wasn't allowed to leave the house with wet hair, so I wrapped a scarf around my head for the rest of the evening. I am a convert to this way of bathing...I still enjoy a good shower, but the hammam definitely has its place. I hope I can continue to join my family for the weekly hammam even after I move out on my own.