Hammam 101

Hammam 101

A hammam is a wonderful place to retreat from the hubbub of the souk and the ardors of shopping or to refresh yourself after hours of walking or trekking. If you go to the public variety, you'll have a rare opportunity to meet locals and participate in an important ritual.

Walking into a public hammam for the first time can be daunting or disenchanting if you're imagining a fairy-tale bathing chamber. It isn't an exotic spa -- like those now offered in many of the upscale riads and hotels -- but rather a basic, unadorned public bath, with no signs for the uninitiated. That said, if you know what to expect, there is nothing like it to make you feel you are truly in Morocco.

What Are They?

The hammam is not filled with steam like a Turkish bath, nor is it dry like a sauna. Like the tagines used to cook the national dish, it's a mixture of baking and steaming. Pipes of water running beneath the marble tiled floors are heated by wood fires underneath the hammam, the same fires used for the neighborhood's bread baking ovens. Water arrives in the hammam through taps and creates a light and constant hot steam before being removed by drains at the center of each room. Although many are old, all public hammams are very clean, as they are checked constantly.

Hammam History

The Islamic hammam came directly from the Roman and Greek baths. At first they were cold baths, and only men were permitted to use them. It wasn't until the prophet Mohammed learned that hot water (the word "hammam" means "spreader of warmth") could promote fertility that the heated hammam was inaugurated and its use permitted to women. It soon became central to Muslim life, with several in each city, town, and village annexed to the mosque, to make hygiene available to everyone in accordance with the laws of Islam. (A tour of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca includes a look at its magnificent hammams (022/48-28-86). The hammam's popularity also increased because the heat was thought to cure many types of diseases. The price of entry was, and still is, kept so low that even the poorest can afford it. Unlike the Romans' large open baths designed for socializing, hammams were mostly small, enclosed, and dimly lighted to inspire piety and reflection. Later, to show off their wealth and devoutness, the rich built larger ones. In time the hammams drew people to socialize, especially women, whose weekly visits became so important to them -- the only time they were allowed to leave the confines of their house -- that it became seen as a "right," and today if a husband refuses this right to his wife, she can even use it as grounds for divorce.

These days Morocco's health and spa business is flourishing, and Marrakesh has one of the hottest spa scenes in Africa. As a result, privately run hammams that fall between the basic public hammam and the chic, expensive hotel or riad variety are also appearing.

How to Hammam

How to Choose

If you make friends easily, are looking for an authentic experience, or are on a low budget, go to the public hammam. If you're shy, you may want to try one of the private hammams. If you want to share the hammam with a companion of the opposite sex, go to a hotel or riad hammam, since the public and private ones are segregated. While many hotels and riads have a hammam, check first, as they are not all open to nonguests. They are often not as hot as public ones, since they don't have a constant stream of bathers to warrant keeping it very hot, and they tend to heat it for the lowest common denominator, rather than for those who can handle it very hot. Also, if you're planning to go to an unlisted public hammam, check first with the concierge or ask a local. There are a few men's hammams for instance that have a reputation for easy pickups. If you're in a rural area, be prepared for the hammam to be extremely basic.

Equipment & Service

Bring: Take your usual toiletries: soap, shampoo, lotion, comb and/or hairbrush, razor, two towels (one for drying, one to wear as a turban when you leave, as hair dryers are not permitted), and a spare pair of underwear. You may also want to bring a pair of flip-flops, as the hammam's tiled floors are slippery and hot. Don't bring any valuables with you, as you'll be leaving your belongings in an open cubbyhole. The hammam ladies watch diligently over these, so bring a few extra dirhams for a tip.

Purchase: If you're going to the public hammam, purchase the following at a grocer's shop: a glove called a kees, (10 DH), made of a coarse fabric that scruffs the skin well; 2 DH worth of saboon bildi, an organic dark-brown olive-oil soap-cum-paste that gets deep into the pores; a small plastic jug for pouring water over yourself (5 DH); and to condition your skin or hair and make it feel like silk, a handful of lava clay called rhasoul (2 DH). If you plan to hire a tayeba (or ghalassa, as they are also called), she will have the jug, kees, saboon bildi, and possibly the rhasoul on hand.

Tayebas: A tayeba does all the work for you: finds you a spot, fills the buckets, rubs the olive soap over you, rinses you, scrubs your body, rinses again, and washes and combs your hair. Some may do massage, but massage isn't customary in the public hammam. On arrival in the entrance room, you'll see several women: simply say "tayeba," and one of them will lead you into the hammam. You pay her afterward. If you're going alone for the first time, this is the best way to learn. If you're going with a friend, you can watch the other bathers and assist each other. Note that tayebas scruff vigorously, so if your skin is sensitive, tell her to go easy or you may end up red and raw (a hand signal or grimace should do the trick).

Hammam Ritual

Strip down to your underwear and give your bag of belongings to the attendant who will store it in one of the open cubbyholes. Take two buckets per person from the entry room and enter the hammam.

Hammams consist of three rooms leading into one another through arches or doorways. They are usually dimly lighted from tiny windows in a small domed roof. The floors are of white marble tiles, hot and slippery, so tread carefully between the bathers. The first room is warm, the next hot, and the last is the hottest. If at any point you feel too hot, go to the warm room for a few minutes -- it will feel cool by comparison.

Choose a spot to sit in the hot room and place your toiletries there. Then go to the taps and fill your buckets, one with hot water, the other with cold for mixing. Go back and rinse your sitting area, and sit on your mat. You can either stay here to let your pores open, or go to the hottest room for 15 minutes or so.

Now apply the olive soap all over yourself. Sit for a while before rinsing it off, then begin scruffing your body all over with the kees mitt. At this point, one of the other women bathers may offer to scrub your back. This isn't a come-on; allow her to scrub you and offer to scrub hers in return. Now rinse off with jugs of water mixed from the hot and cold buckets. You may refill your buckets at any time.

If you're using rhasoul, mix it into a thick paste with water and apply it all over your hair. Rinse out, leaning between your legs and combing from the roots until your hair feels silky clean. Now shampoo your hair and rinse again.

The last step is to lather your body with regular soap, followed by a final all-over rinse, including rinsing your sitting area clean before leaving. Wrapped in your towel, you can relax back in the changing room before dressing and going outside. If you hired a tayeba, pay her now, and tip the attendant who looks after the belongings.

Hammam Etiquette

The vibe in the hammam is generally relaxed, with a constant hum from the voices and splashing of water in each room. You might be stared at in a public hammam, but you can break the ice by smiling and saying salaam waleykum when you arrive. You could also offer some of your body lotion here, as it is seen as a luxury. Some women take a bottle of water or oranges into the hammam for cleansing the skin and for refreshment, so don't be surprised to see orange peel on the tiles.

Private hammams follow the ritual, but are more organized. In these you can rent towels and purchase specialized products. You may also hire a tayeba, though expect to pay a bit more than at the public hammam. A hotel hammam will be organized around you and will always have an attendant and a tayeba. In hotels you won't need to take anything with you, as towels and all products are included in the fee.

Costs

Entry to a public hammam is between 5 DH and 10 DH. This includes the use of a cubbyhole for your belongings, two black rubber buckets (for rinsing soap and shampoo off: note that except for the upscale ones, there are no showers in public hammams), and all the hot water you desire. A tip of 3 DH-5 DH for the woman who looks after your belongings is expected. There's no fixed price in public hammams for the services of a tayeba; typically she receives anything from 30 DH to 70 DH, depending on how thorough she is, and on whether the hammam is small, new or old, in a town or a city.

Entry to private hammams generally costs 30 DH-40 DH, which includes the same items. A tayeba here will cost 40 DH-60 DH. Hotel or riad hammams usually cost between 150 DH and 500 DH per person (in some cases, per couple). This includes bath products, towels, and an attendant who will wash and scrub you. You may of course choose to bathe yourself.