Public baths are an integral part of life in Morocco. On any given day you might see a group of women gathering outside the neighborhood hammam, a small plastic stool and bucket in hand. The hammams in Morocco come with their own set of unspoken rules, which for outsiders can be more than a little confusing. Here are a few tips to help you be ready for your own Morocco hammam experience.
There are numerous upscale, private and intimate spa experiences to be had in every major city and many boutique hotels in the country. These are a bit of a hybrid of the traditional Moroccan public bath, or “hammam,” and are generally a more contemporary, bespoke spa experience. These more upscale hammam experiences are wonderful, particularly for couples.
If you are traveling with us, chances are that you are going to have more than one opportunities to experience a lovely private hammam that is friendly for couples. This is something that would be traditionally done in more upscale households throughout Morocco over the ages. This is a private, intimate experience that generally involves a thorough exfoliating scrub down by a local woman with a rough glove, traditional olive-based 100% natural soap, as well as a clay treatment. Nearly always massages are also available to complete the pampering.
That said, one of the more adventurous ways to come clean for the culturally inquisitive is to head to a local hammam and experience a traditional working class public bath. This is much less a private, intimate experience than it is a social experience where people talk and gossip all while having a great scrub. Our friend Amanda Mouttaki, an American living in Morocco, wrote about her first experience in a public Moroccan hammam as she was getting to know her husband’s family. Amanda’s story is one of many featured in the story collection, Our Morocco: Moroccans and Expats Share Their Lives, Hopes, Dreams, and Adventures. Check it out here: https://www.journeybeyondtravel.com/our-morocco.
As Amanda discovered, stepping into and stripping down in a hammam is something of a disarming experience for many of us. A little inside knowledge will make the whole experience more relaxing – which is ultimately what it is all about!
The traditional hammam is about community and cleanliness rather than a zen-inspired indulgence. It is essentially a practical event, and one that should leave you invigorated, exfoliated and squeaky clean. For just a few dirhams, you can take part in the bathing ritual and be part of a real cultural – and social – experience.
These local neighborhood hammams of Morocco are always inexpensive (generally around 10Dh/ $1) and cater to the local population. Many Moroccans will visit their local hammam once or twice a week. You can still find hammams spread throughout the old medinas of every major city in the country, with more modern versions of the originals scattered with regularity in the more recently built parts of the city.
Your Moroccan Public Hammam Essential Checklist
Before you even enter the a public hammam you are going to need to do a bit of shopping. Hammams are a BYO soap affair. You can purchase most of the items you might need on the list below in the small corner shops found in and around the old medinas in every major city. As a lot of the products are available in single-use sachets (even the savon bildi), you can always stock up on a few sachets on the neighborhood shop. The utilitarian nature of the list below should give you an idea of what’s to come once inside and ready for a soak.
- flip-flops or sandals
- a plastic or wood bucket
- a cup (traditionally this would be brass, but any cup will do)
- a small mat if you don’t want to sit on the floor
- a towel – or two if you will need one for your hair.
- a kis (the scrubbing glove used to exfoliate)
- savon bildi (an olive based, slightly gloopy, black soap)
- rhassoul (clay soap)
- shampoo and conditioner
- shower gel or soap bar (basically anything you would use in the shower or bath at home)
- something to cover your lower half (bathing suit or underwear, though keep in mind they might get stained if you’re going to have henna applied or might get stretched out because of the steam)
- a clean change of clothes (and underwear – easily forgotten!)
- small change for the entrance fee, exfoliation or massage
Your Moroccan Hammam Guide: How To Hammam
Shopping done, bucket and savon bildi in hand, and possibly feeling a little self-conscious, what’s next?
First things first – make sure you you have your times right! While some hammams are exclusively for men or women, in most cases there are certain times of the day allocated to each. Make sure to check for your time before you sashay in and cause a stir! As a stranger and a foreigner in a local neighborhood hammam, you will stand out and you will be guided through the steps and told what to do and when to do it. There is a real sense of community, even sisterhood, in the hammams. The best advice really is to relax and go with the proverbial flow.
The typical hammam consists of four rooms: changing room, cool room, warm room, and hot room. Usually there will be someone on hand in the changing room to lead you through the hammam ritual: soaping, rinsing, and exfoliating. They will also vigorously (if not somewhat violently) rub you down for a small charge of 40-50Dh. Most locals opt to do everything themselves, usually going with a friend or family member to have a chat and get a hand for those hard-to-reach places. If it is your first time it is probably easiest to pay a little extra for someone to rub you down as they will guide you through the process. You might also be asked to rub a stranger’s back with a kis. This is all part of the experience and is to be expected.
When you first enter the steamy confines of the hammam, you will strip down to your bathing suit or underwear and put your belongings in a cubicle in the changing room. Most Moroccans don’t strip all the way down. They’ll leave their underwear on. But do what feels comfortable to you. Men are expected to keep on a pair of underwear or a swimsuit to cover their genitals.
After the changing area, you’ll enter into the first of (usually) three rooms, each progressively warmer. The innermost room is where the hottest water flows. Buckets are provided for you to fill and mix until the water is just as hot as you like.
When that’s done, take your water and find an open space in one of the rooms. The basic idea is to gradually increase the temperature of the air and water as you go from room to room while washing using your bucket and cup. If you have someone to do the rub down and exfoliation with the kis glove, prepare yourself for the odd unexpected bucket of water thrown over you when you least expect it!
A Little Hammam Etiquette
It is quite acceptable to take a moment to rinse off your floor space before starting your bathing ritual. Once ready to get started, douse yourself in hot water (dipping your personal bucket into the larger one provided) and soap up.
Unless you’re the only person there, its usually considered bad form to take more than two buckets of hot water. Likewise, the floors of a hammam are all sloped toward a central drain. Take a moment to make sure your rinse water isn’t going to flow into anyone else’s wash area.
Once you have soaped, washed, rinsed and washed again, give your area a last rinse off. Return your buckets and head back into the changing area to dry off and get dressed.
Heading Home from the Hammam
When you are done and dried and heading out, you’ll probably hear the words ‘bssHa!’ more than a few times. Moroccans say this to anyone who has just come from a bath, and it translates roughly to ‘to your health.’ Reply with a smile and a ‘llay tik saH,’ which means ‘and yours as well.’
The hammam in Morocco is a warm and welcoming space where women take time for ritual and conversation across the generations. Particularly for women, this is one of the richest, not to mention cleanest, experiences you can have in Morocco.
BssHa!
About the Author
Amina Lahbabi is a proud Moroccan, feminist, mother, climate change activist, and promoter of education, equal rights and freedom of expression. She is at the forefront of all of Journey Beyond Travel’s NGO initiatives. She loves art, freedom of expression, and is an accomplished photographer in her own right. She holds multiple graduate degrees in translation and communication and was a Fulbright Scholar at Michigan State University. She also loves a good hammam. She lives in Tangier. You can check out her Wikipedia or find her online: http://www.aminalahbabi.com.
