Hamman
In the Kasbah district of Marrakech, nestled down unlikely streets, lay infamous Hammans which Marrakech has become famous for. Tourists are eager to experience them, whilst for Moroccans, it’s a part of daily life. The Hammans are essentially Spas, with options of massages, clay body masks, full body scrubs etc. The word ‘Hamman’ itself refers to the heated room (not unlike a steamroom/sauna) where you get a full body scrub, exfoliation and Aragan oil treatment. As you can imagine, Hammans could go EXTREMELY wrong, so we were set on finding a nice, professional, clean spa.
Wandering through Kasbah, the first sign we come to advertises Le Bain du Marrakech. I’ve had this Hamman recommended to me and there’s security on the door (?!) so we’re pretty confident. Numerous Western-looking couples sit in the reception, filling in forms. The lady asks us for our reservation name, we explain we don’t have one and quietly walk back out, into the busy, hot streets of Kasbah and away from the lovely, air conditioned, plush interiors of Le Bain.
Brahim has recommended Spa 5 Element to us, but we have no idea where we are in relation to it. So we wander through the streets a little more, the stalls selling more practical wears here, such as tyre, various metals. I smile at an old man sitting in a cave of shredded tyre and he gives me a big, toothless grin back. We come across a sign for the Hamman we are looking for. It points into a seemingly residential area. But we start walking down the little street regardless. After a few wrong turns, a little girl approaches us and talks quickly in French. I manage to make out the words ‘Bain’ and ‘Elements’ and nod rapidly whilst saying ‘Oui, oui!’. She gestures for us to follow her towards an open door. We’re a few streets away from the main street now and can’t help but feel a little suspicious. We walk nervously to the door and the little girl opens it, Harry gives her a coin and she skips off singing about ice-cream. The door opens onto a beautiful courtyard; white tiles, sunshine filtering through the open roof, delicate balconies & large wooden doors with billowing curtains. The girls behind the desk are in uniform, they’re smiling and ask us how we found out about them. They lead us to a room with a locker and give us robes, slippers and towels. We opt for a full massage followed by a Hamman, costing 350 Dirham (around £32).
The treatment was incredible! Unlike Thailand, the Spa felt professional and there was no hint of any dodgy-business going on. The full-body massage was in a room set behind the balcony upstairs, then we were lead down to the Hamman where a lady applied various oils, masks and scrubs whilst we lay on heated benches. We were then taken to a relaxing area with beds and they brought us over some mint tea and we sat, sleepily, in our robes, drinking tea in the courtyard.
