Marrakech: An overview - Part 19

Hammam’s

A visit to a bath-house or hammam is one of those 'must do’s' when you visit Marrakech as it washes away the stresses and strains of daily life. You get to relax and enjoy the luxury of getting washed with black olive soap, relaxing in the heat or having hair treatments and then being washed clean with exfoliating gloves.

The history of hammams or communal bathhouses dates back to at least Roman times. They were once solely reserved for men but over time they opened up to women and soon became an important part of life for all. No one knows when the hammam first came to Marrakech. The only thing we do know is that Hammam Mouassine is the oldest in Marrakesh and it dates back to 1572.

Cleanliness is a commanding part of life in Islamic societies, and washing rituals are performed before prayers. Until the last century the lack of indoor plumbing and reliable hot water made hammams a necessity, while today, they have become a space for mixing and meeting people.

The process of taking a hammam is similar to that involved in taking a Turkish bath but is more closely related to ancient Greek and ancient Roman bathing practices. It starts with relaxation in a room heated by a continuous flow of hot, dry air, allowing the bather to perspire freely. Bathers may then move to an even hotter room before they wash in cold water. After performing a full body wash and receiving a massage, bathers finally retire to the cooling-room for a period of relaxation.

The major difference between the Islamic hammam and the Turkish bath is the air. The hot air in the Turkish bath is dry but in the hammam the air is often steamy like a sauna. The bather in a Turkish bath will often take a plunge in a cold pool but the hammam usually does not have a pool so here the bathers splash themselves with cold water.

The chief benefit of taking a hammam is that it cleans your pores of impurities and abrades off the dead skin. This leaves you with the fresher smoother skin beneath and the increase in blood flow from the massage will give you a healthy radiance.

The etiquette involved is quite simple, all hammams are single-sex and have three main rooms. The first is cool to warm, the next one is defiantly hot and the final one which is the steam room is very hot. The normal convention is that men keep on their underwear while women go naked. However, these are not rules and often people have on swimwear. In public hammams a masseur will be available for an additional fee, while most private hammams work on an individual basis.

Continued in part 20