Hamam - a - mia!

Despite an exorbident fee, I did join a gym here in Turkey. I'm the kind of girl that need my exercise, and running is simply out of the question. It's both suidical, with the agressively self-entitled traffic, and for the most part, completely unheard of by the general populace.

'Agressively self-entitled' is a bit of an understatement in regards to the traffic of Istanbul. Pedestrains seem to have reliquished all right-of-way in this country, makng way for a kind of vehicle free-for-all. I have actually been hit by a car twice in my two week stay here. The first time, I was walking on the sidewalk when a taxi, in too much of a hurry to wait in line, squeezed by on the shoulder of the road, smacking me with its rear view mirror. The second time took place on a residential street, completely deserted in the light of day. As I was walking, a car was taking a tight turn towards me, and, even though I came to a standstill to allow the turn, the car ran into my gymbag point blank. This in turn whipped around my body, smacking me in the face (looking back, it would have been a pretty comical occurance to watch!). Only the second man apologized... through the glass of his window as he sped away.

I told my students about this, and proclaimed (in true American form) that in America, WONDERFUL America, I would have written down the license plate and sued for millions (it's a hit and run, so I would have made out quite well!). They were astonished. I coninued class with daydreams of dollar signs clouding my focus.

Back to the gym - the gym fee was more than three times what I was paying at Bally's in the US. And this was the cheapest I found! Some of the gyms around the Taksim area were charging a full 1200 dollars for 6 months of membership! Crazy!

At any rate, I've been going to my gym, and was informed one day that there was a "Hamam", or Turkish bath in the women's lockeroom. After my workout, the "Bath Lady," a 50 year old woman who is in charge of, you guessed it, the Bath, was hanging out by the lockers, looking pretty bored. We attempted to chat (with hand motions and facial cues, which was surprisingly efficient) and she asked me if I would like a Hamam. Having a few hours to kill in the middle of my work day, I suckered into the idea.

Now, I'm not particularly comfortable with public nudity. When I visited an onsen in Hakone, Japan, I became a bit more open, but still, the conservative Me dominates. Bath Lady (I will find out her real name soon!) instructed me to strip down, and she did the same, as to not get soaked in the process... all the way down to her granny-like underwears. I lay down on a huge marble slab in the center of a small, marble room, warm from the heat and steam of the water. Bath Lady filled a small tin with hot water, repeated ly tossing the water over me. I flipped, and she did the same over my backside. Each time was a rush of warmth, and it both relaxed me and desensitized my mental discomfort.

Then came the scrubbing. With a rough mitt, that woman scrubbed every inch of my body with vigor. She scrubbed to the point that I began to feel slight violation - WHOA, she just WENT there!

After the scrubbing, she washed my hair, and massaged my neck and shoulders. I felt amazing after the whole thing was done, and will definately be doing it again. My skin was as soft as a baby's, and my mind  calm and focused. All for 25 USD!

NOTE: My computer is having problems, thus the lack of photos so far. Once I get that fixed (tomorrow!) I'll do a photo entry.