Cappadocia - Hamam

I have no pictures of the Hamam (Turkish bath) considering we were in there half-naked.  Going to the Hamam is a Turkish tradition and some of the old bathhouses are still present and working today.  Turks would go there to bathe and get clean.  They would receive a scrub down and be soaped up by the attendants after sitting in a hot sauna and finish in a cold pool.

We went to the Hamam at our hotel so we got the version.  It was more of a Hamam/spa.  The Husband was just going to sit in the sauna with me but somehow he was convinced by one of the attendants that he needed the full package just like me.

First we sat in the sauna for 15 minutes.  Then the masseuse has you lay on a big marble stone in the middle of the room.  They pour water on you, scrub your whole body, pour some more water, soap you up with so many bubbles that it looks like you're in a bubble bath, and then pour more water on you.  You're massaged lightly throughout the whole thing.  Multiple people are soaped and massaged on the large stone at the same time.  You wear a plaid towel wrapped around you to cover up for the prudish people.  After our massage we saw another woman in there on the stone who was apparently not a prude who was stark naked.  Luckily she was lying sunny side down.  I also had a bathing suit on.  So did The Husband.  Let's just say the plaid towels are small and made for very small women.  He would have been flashing everyone without the bathing suit.

Then I sat in the relaxation room while the masseuse cleaned up and changed into more traditional spa clothing instead of the plaid towel.  After that we received a regular Swedish-style massage.  More time in the relaxation room and then a facial mask.

The spa/Hamam area was gorgeous.  Since I have no pictures here is what it looks like from the hotel website:  http://www.kelebekhotel.com/turkish-bath.php