That one time in Morocco when I bathed with 50 other women...

Only in Morocco (and perhaps other Arab countries) is this statement not weird. If you know a little bit about Morocco or other Arab/Muslim countries and their institutions, you will know what the hammam is. The hammam is the public baths. There are modern and older ones, and there are different hours for men and women. The average number of times that people go to the hammam is once a week. I repeat, once a week. For a Westerner who's used to showering every day to every other day and washing their hair about as often as such, taking one shower a week is almost unimaginable. But for Moroccans, most can only afford to pay for themselves or the whole family once per week. My correspondent also explained to me that if you go more than twice (2 times per week is the maximum usually) in one week, people will assume you did something immoral and are coming to the hammam to "wash away your impurity." I totally don't understand what's socially wrong with keeping clean more than 1 per week. But that's my Western self talking. Of course the religion plays into that, and then after I went... everything made a lot more sense.

So first of all, this hammam is more than 300 years old. It's located smack in the middle of the Old Medina where I stayed in an old, traditional riad. I obviously couldn't take a picture of the hammam while I was there, but I scrounged the internet and found this picture. This is THE exact hammam I went to, and I found the picture on this blog, so it's not mine, but the person talks about hammams quite accurately in my opinion: Hammams. 

There were holes in the ceiling to let in light and for air circulation. You could see worn paint on the walls where there once were frescoes. Through the doorway on the left, that was the hot room. In the corner there was a fountain were you collect the hot water with buckets. There are three rooms, this room is the medium heat room and through the columned doorway straight ahead and to the right was the cold room. You can mix the water to your liking and you pick a corner in the room and start scrubbing away with henna (it's actually a plant that is used for many things body-related) and natural black soap for exfoliation and cleansing. You use like a little glove washcloth that it somewhat rough and you scrub for hours to take off all the dead skin. I know it's gross. But I can't tell you how soft my skin was afterwards. Like, I bet my skin hasn't been that soft since I was fresh out of the oven as a newborn. Seriously.. It was amazing. And then I began to understand why people wait all week long. It's like a spa essentially, and I have to admit, it was worth the 5 days of no showering. I felt like a new Katherine when I stepped out haha. 

Soukaina, the niece of Fatiha, my correspondent, is 15 years old and she showed me the steps. So there I was, naked in front of tons of other women, and evidently awestruck at what I was seeing (women shaving and rubbing each other in a 100 percent completely non sexual way- it's not everyday in France or the US that you see that haha), and sweet Soukaina was patiently leading me around showing me what to do. She scrubbed me down, helped me rinse my hair, helped me gather water.. I mean that's like real sisterly love! Not even my best friends have "seen me" like that so it was quite a liberating and outside-of-comfort-zone experience.. and that's putting it lightly. But it was so wonderful because I let go and just did what everyone else was doing. And women who didn't speak French and knew I was a foreigner were helping Soukaina guide me along as well. I mean it's just like serious woman power in there. There were even women who were drumming the buckets and chanting like it was a ritual or something. Which it totally is! And it added to the experience. Fatiha said, "It's OUR day, it's a female ritual and we celebrate it." They totally embrace their femininity and it's beautiful. I really admire that about Moroccan culture and I think the US could learn a thing or two from that. So many women turn against each other in our culture. I know plenty of girls that say, "I prefer guy friends cause girls are -this or that, insert here-." And I can't blame them because the girl world is tough in the US. It is in Morocco too, but for different reasons (because of masculine superiority!). The female solidarity in Morocco is incredible and it exists on many levels. Emotionally and mentally and physically too. They are much more open amongst each other and they don't turn on one another. You are never without girl friends in Morocco. 

Women (and men) have been coming to this hammam for centuries to partake in something that is so much more than just washing your body. It's a cultural and emotional and spiritual experience, in my opinion. And although that feeling might be so strong in my mind because it was my first time, those who grew up doing this appreciate the same feeling, too. It's normal for them but that doesn't make it less important. When I was in there, I just had a revelation that I was partaking in living history, doing what thousands of people of Fes have been doing since... forever, in the same place I was sitting! That's a pretty powerful feeling. Now combine that feeling with the feeling of being naked with 50 other naked women (if you're a man- picture yourself with men, the other way around is not an option haha) who are young, old, fat, thin, pretty, ugly, etc. It makes you realize certain things and I can't quite precisely say what exactly. It just puts things into perspective- how you treat others or judge others based on what they look like, based on their needs, based on the way they live their life. Going to the hammam made me reflect on all of that.