Monday, October 26, 2009

The Hamman


I do not remember if I have written about the Hammam yet. It is certainly an experience worth writing about. That being said, I am not sure words can really cover it. After all, I read about it before I came to Morocco and what I read in no way conveyed the experience. It is just something you have to see for yourself. So, if any of you are ever in Morocco, I highly suggest a trip to the Hammam, preferably with a friend of the same sex, especially one who has been before. It is Different!
To give an idea, the Hammam is closest in understanding to a three room sauna, all wood fire heated, with hot and cold running water and a culture all its own. My first impression was that it was very homoerotic, a dozen men lying on the hot tile floor, rhythmically rocking as they are scrubbed down until their skin peels off in little rolls. Talk about exfoliation! When I went a second time my impression was more along the lines of male gorillas, all taking immense time to groom one another’s fir and make sure it is bug free. In a society where it is less common to bond with members of the opposite sex, the Hammam shows how much closer same sex friendships are. “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.” Literally.

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