June 13th, 2009
Going to a Turkish Bath was on Libby's short list of things to do before we left Turkey. Being a good sport and also very interested in the process, I was game.
After our Ephesus tour, we did some research and happened upon one in walking distance from our hotel (after a bit of hassling from one man aiming to sell us stuff).
It not only met, but exceeded, our expectations.
A run down of the Turkish Bath process:
First of all, it is not a svelte 21-year-old muscular young man that rubs you down. Think, rather, of a roly-poly, hairy, pot-bellied, mustachioed large Turkish man.
When we arrived we were instructed to wrap ourselves in towels (swimsuit, optional, if you brought one), and then head back to a sauna type area (I had opted to only get the bath, not a massage, because I feared it was an oil massage like the one I had in India). We chatted with a Welsh couple who were also haivng their first Turkish Bath. As I sweated out every possible calorie from all the kufte I had ate the past week, I wondered just what I was getting myself into.
A short time later, we found out.
Mr. Roly-Poly comes in and shouts "COME!" to the Welsh couple, and they leave. Soon, he beckons Libby and I, and we obediently follow.
"SIT!" shouts the loud, plump Turkish man in the towel as he pours water over my unexpected head, and then washes my hair with a large bar of green soap that suspiciously resembles Lava. After we each get properly scrubbed and rinsed, we sit until he is finished with the Welsh duo.
"LADIES, COME!" Our man bellows, and we walk into the first room and are instructed to lie on a large, warm, marble slab/table (one at a time). Our man proceeded to exfoliate our skin, (picture him wearing a large scrubbing mitt and going to town), and we then rinsed with a bucket of water from a tap on the side of the wall.
We again, one at a time, climbed onto the slab and were slapped on our backsides with a foam bag that oozed out soapy bubbles, and proceeded to rinse again.
What, may you ask, is going through my mind at this time?
1. I really want one of those soapy foam bags.
2. Don't slip on the floor when I get off the marble slab table.
3. This is hilarious.
After we are both bathed, we have a cold shower and are wrapped in clean cloths/towels and sent back to our "room" where we have apple tea.
At this point, I am thouroughly enjoying my Turkish Bath experience, and decide that yes, I needed the massage too.
Wrapped in our terrycloth blue towels and turban-like headdress.
The massage consisted of Libby and I each having our own burly and rotund Turkish man massage us, included more slapping of the backsides, and a command of "LADY, TURN OVER PLEASE!"
On the way out, we were given a bit of lemon spritzer to put on face, and we re-emerged into the world, cleaner, more cultured, and well, hungry.
Our last night in Turkey, we had ice cream, we had schnitzel, we had wine, and, we saw a very impressive Turkish mullet.
As the sun set on Kusadasi and we looked out into the waters it was exciting to think that the next day, we would be in Greece.
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