How We Survived Our First Moroccan Hammam
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Oh, Morocco! A country whose reputation is synonymous with intrigue, exoticness, and tradition all bundled into one large location. I loved going to Morocco and discovering their deserts, medinas, and coastlines. However, I wasn’t as excited about participating in a Moroccan Hammam experience.
A Little Background on Moroccan Hammams
The Hammam is Morocco’s take on the Turkish bath with a sandpaper-like twist. In Morocco, there are two kinds of Hammams: private and public. Hammams are bathhouses where people get a vigorous scrub down by a friend/stranger in public or an attendant in private. The typical bath consists of a steam room, hot water, an argon oil soap mix called Savon B eldi, and a rough hand mitt known as a kese.
Private Hammams are more expensive and fancier and cater to foreigners who, for whatever reason, do not want to share a bath with strangers. The private businesses provide all you will need for the ritual. The private baths also allow couples and small groups of mixed sexes to steam together.
Public bathhouses are where the authentic Moroccan Hammam experience lies. When attending a public bath, you must bring a kese, savon beldi, shower shoes, towel, swimsuit & any other toiletries you may need after a bath. Whether you want to scrub yourself or hire a staff member to wash you is your option. If you are friendly enough, you may exchange cleanings with a local. Due to Morocco’s conservative beliefs, public houses are segregated. Men and women are kept separate by bath times and bath areas.
Our Hammam Journey
We, or I should say, opted out of the genuine public bath for a few reasons. The biggest was that I had once crashed a moped. Having an incredibly stiff brush raked across my fresh road rash will never be my fondest memory. I had read several stories explaining the intense pain one feels while getting a rub down. The stories freaked me out because they reminded me of my road rash. There were even a few nightmares where a stranger started scrubbing my arm too hard, and I turned around and punched their face.
I was feeling a lot of anxiety about my first Hammam experience. Matt suggested we try a private Hammam. Then, I could scream or cry as hard as I wanted in the privacy of our room. It took him a week to convince me to go. He was notably giddy and booked our appointment with Riad Laaroussa.
We arrived about twenty minutes early for our appointment. We waited and wandered in and out of their beautiful center courtyard and fireplace sitting room. The best part was the owners had two lovely Labradors, which helped calm my nerves.
Anxiety at Riad Laaroussa
At some point, our ladies came to get us and led us through the massage room into a sitting room. We were each handed a robe and guided into a tiny dressing room. She instructed us to “wear underwear,” so we kept our underwear on. After our appointment, while getting dressed, we realized a small basket full of little black squares wrapped in plastic next to the mirror were disposable undies.
After changing, our stuff was placed into separate baskets, the dressing room locked, and the key handed directly to us. The attendant opened a side door. We instantly felt the heat as the steam poured from the open door. We were told to disrobe and lay on our backs on an L-shaped marble slab. The room was about 10×10' and maybe two stories high. At first, the steam was so thick we couldn’t see the ceiling or the walls. However, after about five minutes, we could view the dome above us, and the walls dripped with moisture.
The marble was hotter than we expected but not hot enough to be uncomfortable. The ladies advised us they would return in five minutes, but it was more like ten to fifteen minutes before we saw them again. The heat was helping me relax, but I still felt scared. Then the door opened, the ladies entered, and the sound of the door closing and clasping was like that feeling of doom in a horrible, scary movie.
No Turning Back Now
I watched both attendant’s gloves up, and I expected to hear a latex snap as the glove clasped her wrist. Do you know that latex glove snaps you hear every time you see a prostate exam about to go down on TV? We didn’t hear that snap, which was good because it reminded me this was not a rectal exam that was helping my anxiety subside.
They scooped and dumped hot water over us from the neck down with their ungloved hands. Once we were thoroughly saturated, each lady scooped a handful of kese (an olive oil pulp and Argan Oil, a black soap-looking mixture) into her ungloved hand and directed the glob under our noses, telling us to smell it. Mine smelled good, but Matt had some soap drop into his eye, followed by bowls of water heartily poured onto his face. It was an accident, and he was all right.
The Nitty Gritty
Weirdly, what came next was no accident, and we paid for it. The black soap was spread over our bodies, followed by that dreaded glove. Just like that, all my anxiety evaporated. It was not as excruciating as most people claimed it to be. The scrubbing felt good; they scrubbed all exposed body parts from the neck down.
After our first sweeps, I was told to touch Matt’s back. It was shockingly smooth. Then, one of the attendants told me to feel the gross piles of dead skin clustered on his back. I declined with a look of horror and disgust while trying to be as polite as possible for the offer — gross! Matt thought it was quite funny and then swiped my arm to see if he could feel a pile of dead cells & goop on my skin. It was disgusting but, admittedly, fascinating how much skin they rubbed off.
Anxiety to Fascination
After cleaning our front and back, hot water bowls were dumped on us to wash away all the grime. We were then slathered with a rosewater/ghassoul clay mixture and left to soak in for a couple of minutes before we were shown to the showers and instructed to wash and rinse.
The experience inside the bathhouse took about 25 minutes, with about 10 minutes spent alone in the steam room and maybe 15 minutes being cleansed and rinsed.
Overall, it was not what I expected it to be. I thought it would hurt and take longer, and I thought my feet would be scrubbed so raw I couldn’t walk. My feet were barely touched, which disappointed me because I love a good foot rub. I did find out until later that the feet are rarely a part of the spa routine.
My anticipation was not because I liked the experience. Although the treatment was aggressive, I did not find it painful at any time. We were given our keses to keep, which we appreciate. However, I did feel the price was high. $70 each for about a half-hour of steam, a shower, and 5 minutes to drink a cup of tea was too much.
In Conclusion
Private hammam packages are available all over Morocco, and the prices vary. I wouldn’t say don’t do a private hammam, but think of it as a spa treatment rather than an actual Moroccan Hammam experience.
If I had it to do all over, I would attend a public bath and exchange scrub-downs with a stranger. It is the greener option, much cheaper, and the only option for the bona fide Moroccan Hammam custom.
Travel Basics
Riad Laaroussa: If you have the money to spend on one of their treatments, try them. Their property is beautiful, the staff is friendly, and their two dogs are cute.
Cost: Prices vary from around USD 2 to over USD 100 depending on the location of public or private Hammam.
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Copyright 2024, Heather Holmes — All rights reserved.
Originally published at Travelationship
