Tuesday morning - hammam eek!

transcribed again.... Initial impressions best? if a little wordy. a hammam is a traditional turkish bathouse, still somewhat in use, but declining with common indoor plumbing.... this one was more tourist-focused.

a slow starting morning, although out the room by 9. free salty breakfast in the basement, watching horrible turkish mtv. initial experiences with hammam - interesting a little, uncertain and scary a little, lovely although not as great as imagined. corridors for disrobing, following a dressed lady into the enchanting main room. it was a slow time for the hammam, and for awhile i was the only one laying on the raised navel stone, staring up at the star-studded dome, the light changing in intensity, with little curls of steam playing with the edges of the cups. 12 bays , 4 axis points showing rooms cut off with marble porticoes. pink-peach variegated plaster, one large crack half up the dome and splitting arch above largest 'shower' room.
Massage administered capably if not lovingly by a stout fit older lady. motioning for me to take off my robe, i complied - weird and liberating. nudity just part of the experience - baking your body on the stone, feeling your pulse in the heel of your palm, could be unselfconscious with only females, even under massuers intense scrutiny. gloved exfoliation left me raw initially. i felt like saying, i NEED that stuff to keep me warm, but refreshing front and back. soap massage a wonderful technique, the feeling of warm lather showering down from a ballooned towel. fast massage, long strokes not rubbing - not too much attention paid, and as always too fast. a full massage should be in order at some point. rinse off delightful - cascading buckets of water better then a shower by far, and still the masseur wouldn't allow you to help. soap n the eyes made the rest of the stay even better, no sarcasm, fuzzing the lights to appreciate more the delicate shading. just one of the 12 bays also had light coming in 3 portals. beautiful, unfortunate that it was just one. 5 women was the max while i was there - almost unfortunate, the closeness/proximity was interesting, and it wasn't even remotely crowded. xperience inside drawn to a close, a transition to clother (ugh! and smelly) and dry in those corridors. fresh juice in the courtyard and a timely appearance by tony from the elevated men's side before our exit.