Turkish Baths and Egyptian Revolutions

It is difficult finding time to write about our experiences!  Nick and I are currently in Cairo, Egypt, having fled south from Turkey hoping to find warmer weather.  We were successful- it gets to be around 65 F during the day (compared to 32 F in Turkey), which is quite pleasant.  At night it is chilly since we are surrounded by desert, after all, but the hostel we have stayed in the last two nights provides thick wool blankets that keep out the chill. 

I want to rewind for a little bit to talk about my experience taking a traditional Turkish Bath in Istanbul.  Then we can get to the Egyptian Revolution!

The Turkish Bath was everything I could ever hope for in a relaxing, meditative, introspective experience.  Upon entering the Hamam, which my friend Rob and I were led to by a Turk who snagged us on the street, we had to pick which level of bath we wanted.  We went for the whole shebang, which included a 1 hour bath and a 40 minute oil massage for a total of 90 Turkish Lira, or roughly $45.  None of the 4-5 seemingly bath employees around the entry way appeared to speak English, which suggests this was not a Turkish Bath frequented by tourists.

After leaving my clothes in a small room and wrapping myself in a scrap of cloth, I was ushered through a low door into a marble chamber with many alcoves.  I was led down a hallway and found myself in a 9x9 ft room made of marble with a low marble bench around the wall and 3 basins (one on each wall) with a hot water and cold water spigot into each.  The ceiling was domed and had round 6in holes connecting to the outside covered in colored plastic or glass, giving off a rudimentary stained glass affect. 

The girl who led me in indicated I should sit, turned on the hot and cold water, picked up a scoop of water and flung in on me, then handed it to me and indicated I should continue to bath myself.  She then bobbed her head and I was left alone to relax in the warm steamy room, letting hot water trickle over my body at a leisurely pace.  After the noise and bustle of Istanbul’s streets combined with the soreness of my muscles from all the walking and hiking, this was wonderful.  I’m not sure how much time went by, but I would estimate about 25 minutes. 

The actual bathing came next. I was laid on a marble slab and was scrubbed and buffed to perfection by a lady wearing a rough mit.  She left no ground uncovered.  After the srubbing, she rinsed me and then applied soap using an amazing pillow like contraption that was dipped in a sudsy bucket and then filled with air and rung out over my body.  There were mounds of bubbles!  The lady massaged the soap into me, flipped me over, and repeated.  Then she shampooed my hair, stood me up and rinsed me some more, and declared me “finished.”

I was then ushered (still in my little rag) across the building to the massage room.  I have only had two professional massages in my lifetime, but I have to say this was the best yet.  The lady was relentless.  She was actually out of breath from working on my muscles so hard!  Both hands, full speed, full pressure, for 40 minutes.  It was amazing.  She used an oil which when combined with my previous buffing resulted in the softest skin I have ever had.

After the massage Rob and I were served delicious Apple Tea and were able to sit and relax before entering back into the chilly busy streets of Istanbul.  Nick chose not to participate in the bathing this time since he has a scar that is healing on his back, but is looking forward to it on our return trip to Turkey in March!

Cairo, Egypt

Chaos.  Hustlers. Garbage. Horns. Delicious Food. Cheap.  Noise.

This is how I summarize Cairo after 2 days here.  We flew in from Istanbul, and are staying at a hostel about 2 minutes from Tahrir Square, heart of the Egyptian Revolution.  On 25 January there will be a big celebration of last year’s revolution, and already we are seeing signs of it.  People are camping on the square, and last night we saw a crowd march through the streets chanting and waving banners. The Egyptian Museum, which is right on the square, has been closed until after the “celebration” as a precautionary measure.  We have talked to several people about it and no one seems to know what to expect on the 25^th, so to be safe we are taking a bus to Dahab tonight and will see more of the sites in Cairo on our way back to Turkey. 

The food is absolutely AMAZING… and SO cheap.  Nick and I can get a large dinner for the two of us for the equivalent of just a few US dollars.  The currency here is the Egyptian Pound.  The streets are absolute chaos- you have to be really gutsy to cross and just run right out in the traffic!  I will upload some  pictures of donkeys pulling carts that I liked.  More later!