The public bath tradition started thousands of years ago in the Roman culture when people had no baths in their homes, and is still very popular today. Our resort spa offered the Turkish bath and it is a favorite with guests, so I had to do it. A cute Turkish lady was my attendant and I had no idea what to expect. I started the 90 minute procedure by stuffing my clothes in a locker and wrapping a thin cloth around me. I was led into a steam room for 10 minutes then into the large bath area where several men and women were being washed. Now except for me and one other dude, all of the women , and men had swimming suits on while in the bath. I was laid down face up on this marble slab where she soaked me with warm water. Next was the scrub-down with a course pad which I'm sure was used for stripping paint. Then came the foam soap scrub from head to toe cleaning what little skin I had remaining. I was turned over face down for more of the same. The thin cloth wrap I wore was pulled off several times and readjusted. So my "boys" got plenty of attention, thank you very little. After the bath I stood up and was rinsed, drowned with cold water, and dried. She then rapped me with a dry cloth and took me to a quiet room for a full body massage, which I don't have near the time to tell about. I wasn't able to take my camera with me so I posted a picture from the Hotel lobby. Would you believe that the bath will be my best memory of Turkey and I know Julie can't wait to learn this fine art just for me.
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