Turkish Bath

Saturday, November 30th

“Girls, I have a project idea. It’s definitely not an academic one. Have you ever been to a Turkish bath before?”

This was Rudaina's project proposal a week ago in our Whatsapp group, which we are implementing today. After jogging and a cozy breakfast, Rudaina picks us up at the 3rd Circle and off we go to a Turkish bath, for which she has made an appointment for us. We drive through West Amman, passing by the huge and modern buildings, until suddenly an estate appears that looks like the White House. The house of Jordan's richest man, as Rudaina informs us. Married to the daughter of a powerful Russian mafia boss. A very nice combination. "People here are either super rich or super poor. There is nothing in the middle," Rudaina comments.

Around 2 o'clock, half an hour after our agreed appointment time, we arrive at our destination. Rudaina dismisses our concerns about being late with a "The appointments here are flexible!" I love appointments like these. After a short confusion about which house exactly the hamam is in, we find the right building. It looks like an abandoned small shopping center, where the hamam is located downstairs in the basement. We knock on the door, which opens a crack shortly after. A woman, wearing something like a nightgown, greets us with a wave of cigarette smoke. Even if it doesn't look like it at first glance - we are in the right place. And from the looks of it, we are also the only guests.

After paying at the reception (15 JD is only about half of what you pay in other hamams in Amman), we are led to the lockers. The old wooden lockers have definitely seen better days, and the small locks are more for show than theft protection. But besides us, there is no one here anyway. Now we all get a towel, and then we are ready. "The steps in the Turkish hamams are everywhere the same," Rudaina explains to us. So, let's get started.

Step 1: a whirlpool. Filled with foam and incredibly hot. We are all served a cup of hibiscus juice and relax in the warm foam for a while. In the hot foam, to be precise. After a while, we all feel like our skin is half cooked and wait at the edge of the pool until the receptionist tells us that the sauna is ready.

While the bath was almost unbearably hot just now, we are now starting to shiver in the sauna. Obviously, the hamam ladies turned on the sauna a little too late, so it heats up very slowly. Since our skin is still heated from the warm water, it's not a problem for us. At least the wooden benches here smell like sauna. Just as the temperature starts to rise, we are already being picked up again for the next step: steam sauna.

It's not much warmer here than in the first sauna, but there is steam. I take a deep breath and feel the steam clearing my nose. It feels good. We also stay here until it starts to get warm slowly and then we are picked up in groups of two. Rebecca and Rudaina are the first, and I wonder what is happening to them now when I hear loud squeaking and giggling from outside. Sophia and Lea go next, until it's finally my turn.

When I step out of the steam sauna, I see Lea lying on a huge stone slab next to the whirlpool, her body buried under a layer of foam. I am instructed to lie down beside her on the slippery stone surface, and then the treatment begins. First, my body is scrubbed from all sides with a rough washcloth. After the hamam attendant pours warm water over me, I feel with closed eyes how a foam mound is formed on me as well. Soft, warm, and fragrant. Then I am slowly instructed to turn around. "Don't be too excited!" I hear Lea's attendant warn her not to turn too quickly, "You will fall down!" We really feel like two slippery fish on a work surface. After the foam, warm water comes again, and then the next step: salt scrub.

This morning, shaving my legs was perhaps not the smartest decision. In addition to the scrub, which is already sharp and scratching on the skin, the salt now makes my skin burn. But who wants to be beautiful must suffer. After the scrub, we are instructed to sit in the steam sauna again, where the heat slowly melts the salt, and then we are asked to take the "Final Shower" - only the massage follows, and we should not shower again afterwards.

I haven't had a full-body massage in ages, and I realize how much I have become tense in the last few weeks. Slowly, my muscles loosen under pleasantly scented massage oil, and with every minute, I feel more relaxed. When the masseuse tells me that she is done, I have reached a state of deep relaxation. I could definitely lie here for hours more.

In the 15 JD program, a shisha is also included, which we now enjoy with baby-soft skin in front of a large glass window overlooking the suburbs of Amman with the sun setting over the hills. It is just before 5 o'clock when the hamam ladies ask us to slowly finish - they want to close. So we started and finished their working day today.

We end our day in a small restaurant in Weibdeh with forbiddenly delicious food. Today was truly pure relaxation and self-care from beginning to end. I hope I can store the energy I gathered today and access it later. The time before Christmas is going to be stressful. Very stressful.

View of Amman's suburbs after the hamam treatment