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Sunday, September 11 - Visiting the Sultan Hamam, Dipping in the Euprate River
Dror left this morning; we will probably see him again on the road. Laundry, hanging the cloths on the roof, beautiful view of the city.
Farida said, “come to the Hamam with me”.
I followed Farida through narrow streets, stairs, bazaar, busy streets more bazaar until we arrived at the Sultan Hamam. This one is for women only. We go down in an old stone building. We come to the first room, it is called the “reception room”, over here you remove your cloths. Somebody left their baby sleeping in the reception room. We are now ready to move into the Hamam. I was not prepared for what came next: very loud, about fifty naked women, many kids running around. Some boys were circumcised, some not. I was the only foreigner. All eyes were on me. The air was very humid. They all scrubbed their bodies or each other. Most of them were heavy, big bellies hanging forward, falling hanging breasts, most of them were shapeless. Farida put her body on the center sitting stone, talked to some ladies, and than started scrubbing herself. I was sitting, waiting, what am I supposed to do? Little kids stared at me, a young girl said “alo, what your name”. Farida told them, “a tourist”. Nobody spoke a word of English. Farida was my translator.
After about 20 minutes a skinny woman approached me and waved with her hand to follow her. I followed her to the next room where she asked one lady to move, to make room for me. A fight broke. The woman got very angry and started yelling at the Hamam attendant and the yelling followed by a fistfight, they were pushing each other, other women interfere, I went back to the main room. The skinny lady called me back, waived at me to lie down. I lied down on the stone and she started scrubbing my skin. She was peeling layers of skin off my body. She was scrubbing and scrubbing. Than she started to scrub my head. I thought my hair would come off. She rinsed my body and started all over again, and again.
Later came the massage. After kneading my muscles, she started drumming on my back. I am lying against the hard stone and with every bang, my ribs were pushed into the hard stone and I thought that she would break my ribs.
Later Frida asked me, “good massage?”
“Very good”, I replied, and was glad to be out of there. It cost 10 million lira or about $7.00.
I followed Farida back home. Touching my skin, it felt like a baby's skin and my hair felt like silk. Why does Farida go to the Hamam, she has shower and hot water at home. I dare not ask. Maybe it is social.
Farida called me “my sister”, she tries to convince me to stay another day in Urfa and Aziz will take us to the family farm. Poor Benny had enough of Urfa.
Benny does not feel well, he went to sleep early. Farida and I stayed and talked into the night. She told me about her family, children, Aziz family, the Ramadan, when they do not eat for 20? Days. Only eat at night, between 3-4 in the morning. After the holiday, everyone comes to their home and eat, eat, eat. After that they go to Aziz’s mother home, than to Aziz’s sister home, later to a neighbor’s home, and they eat, eat and eat. She tells me that Aziz’s mother is 105 and is well.
Every morning at 4:45 am we wake up for the call to pray. Aziz does not like going to the mosque or praying. Farida prays at home. She has a small rug that she puts down and kneels to pray.
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