Bathing

A few weekends ago I finally got to do something that I have wanted to do since I moved here. My sweet friend and I went to the baths that this country is famous for. I have really wanted to go, but did not want to go by myself. Plus I was downright petrified of the nudity that was involved.

I read a lot of information, reviews, and tips on the internet. Plus, my friend had been a few times before, so she talked me through it. She found a lovely local place- not like the very lovely but very expensive places geared toward tourists on the other side.

We found it, and timidly entered through the beaded curtain. It did seem strange to me that in a culture so transfixed on modesty that a beaded curtain was the only thing shielding a room full of topless women from the world. But what do I know?

So, we enter, and fumble our way through trying to figure out what exactly to do. The room we were in was a large round domed room with small changing rooms all along the outside walls. it was the cool room- the room where you rest and relax after having been the hot bath. The lady up front gave us each thin towels that sort of look like picnic blankets to wrap ourselves in and a key to our changing room. I was relieved to see that all of the women had on bikini bottoms or underwear. It is amazing how quickly your standards of modesty change! But Iw as surprised at the wide range of ages and types of women (pretty young girls, fat, thin, ancient, etc.) that were there.

Once we were sufficiently disrobed and wrapped up in our picnic blankets we headed for the hot room. My heart was pounding- I was so nervous. We entered the hot room. It was another round room with a high domed ceiling, a large marble table in the middle, and marble basin around the walls. Like this:


It was very hot due to the hot mineral spring water taps. Each basin has a hot and cold tap like this:


You start with more cold than hot and eventually work your way to the hottest you can stand. All while sitting on a marble bench next to the basin and using a special bowl to pour the water over yourself.

I was really surprised at how quickly my nervousness melted away, and I began to enjoy the experience of being with all these women. It felt a little surreal in the since that this is a really ancient form of bathing as well as socializing. After just a short while I was totally calm and could have cared less about my lack of clothing!

After sitting for a nice long while I was sufficiently sweaty and prune-y. Then the attendant told me it was my turn. She took a large bowl of just hot water and splashed it over the part of the marble table where I would lay. It instantly heats the stone. Then I laid down and she scrubbed my ENTIRE body. Again, I was really shocked at how not weird this felt. It was a bit like getting a massage for the first time. Where it feels so good that you don't even care! It was fun to see just how much yucky dead skin she could get off. I had heard that it is a bit painful, but I didn't think so at all. This is an example:


Once she finished scrubbing me, my attendant told me to rinse off really well. She cleaned the table with a few buckets of that super hot water, and then it was time for my massage. Erase any thoughts of a massage you may have had in America. It was not like that! That's not to say that it wasn't good. It was just different. She used lather to rub and clean my skin till it really did squeak. Again, I had heard that the attendants are typically quite rough, but mine was not. I am probably just super awesome and tough!

After I was all clean and done I went back to my basin and rinsed off, washed my hair, etc. Then it was my friend's turn. After we were both sufficiently clean we went out to the cool room to change and relax. I could not stop sweating. But, if you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that that is a constant problem except in maybe January! I tried my best to cool down, we got ready, and then we headed out to go shopping.

My skin has never felt batter. It was such a fun and interesting experience. And the be frank, not nearly as weird as it sounds. I can't wait to go back.