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After Israel, I made it to Syria from Jordan rather easily, the little "stamp me on a separate piece of paper" thing working quite well.

Scrub Me, Baby!

Xtinemichaud
2005-12-23 16:49:22

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I protested; was I to do so in the middle of the reception area?? I had been told walking around in nothing but your underwear wasn't that big of a deal in a hammam because there is so much steam no one can see anything anyway. But this was as bright and steam-free as a dentist's waiting room... and of course I had a G-string on, and still bore that horrendous fresh camel-riding scar across the middle of my butt.

There was no way I had enough vocabulary or sign language abilities to explain this. But then again, I had made a fool of myself so many times already, what difference would one more time do?

So I stripped down to my bubble gum pink G-string, feeling so tall and white amidst those brown short women. As I waited to be told where to go next, I felt like somewhat of a voyeur watching local women who had walked in completely veiled swiftly strip down to nothing but their underwear. I must admit most of them looked much better with their veils on...

I was lent a pair of plastic sandals and directed to a small steam room at the end of a maze of downward sloping corridors. Four small rooms were arranged around a central one, star-like, each serving either as a steam room or a wash room, with hot water taps and plastic basins to splash yourself or whoever you had come with.

I sat by myself in my little steam room sweating away for some 20 minutes, not sure what I was expected to do next. Half naked middle-aged women came in and out every few minutes, scrubbing themselves with a coarse black glove, mostly ignoring me. I finally worked up the courage to ask one of them where I could get such a glove.

"You take a taxi, go to the souq, turn left, right and left again and..." she fired back in Arabic. Ok, so I took it that I had to bring my own. No glove for me this time.

But before I had time to feel sorry for myself, the masseuse showed up. Quickly ...