Today I didn't creep out of my comfort zone, I leaped. I went to a Turkish bath (also known as a hamam) today with Mika. It took a lot of guts for me to be completely naked in front of a friend and several strangers...I don't know which was harder. We first thought we couldn't go because we forgot our bathing suits. We were reassured by the lady at our hostel that you only need your birthday suit. She called the place, and a cab picked us up (for free). Cabs in Istanbul are a far cry from cabs in Cairo...there were seatbelts!
When we got there, we were given "un"dressing rooms with clear windows...lol. The doors and walls were pretty much pointless. We were instructed to strip down to nothing and given a towel and shower shoes. As soon as we went to the other room, they literally stole our towels. This is the first time I have been naked in front of anyone outside of my family. My awkward radar hit the roof. Mika and I decided to take the tactic of feigning confidence...I'm sure I failed. I felt a little better when there was this HUGE woman wearing underwear that would have been too little for me.
Too add to the awkward scale, we got loofaed, scrubbed, shampooed, and massaged on our entire body, by half naked women. She was definitely massaging me in places I didn't think would ever be touched by a woman. I must say though, I have never felt cleaner than at this moment. I would do it again. My only relief from awkwardness was Mika was there for support, and we got to watch other women to go first. Mika's lady spanked her to get her to turn over. LOL! In the end the cultural experience was totally worth it. Definitely not for the modest or the faint of heart.
Tomorrow we head back to Cairo. Boring life of studying, but I will have time to post more pics. Hope you all are having great Sundays.
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