Loading ...The Naked Truth About Moroccan Baths
Morocco would be one of the last countries where I’d have expected to end up in a room full of almost naked women. Nudity or toplessness is the norm in a Moroccan hammam, and little foreign me would have to embrace it.
It’s not really a done thing in Western cultures, bathing with others in a state of undress. Sure, when I was a kid my mum would throw my younger brother and me in the tub and create an endless amount of embarrassing photos that would magically reappear on our 21st birthdays. But since then, bathing has been my own private alone time.
Not so in Morocco.
At this point you may have two questions racing through your mind:
Isn’t Morocco a Muslim country, where people are quite conservative? Yes. Women do cover up here in public. Most women adorn the head scarves, and there are quite a few that wear the full-faced burka.
Why would you, a 31-year-old woman, honestly want to go and bathe with a bunch of complete strangers? Just for fun is the only response I have. Plus, it’s the done thing in a Moroccan hammam. Completely normal.
Upon arriving in Morocco, I actually had never heard of hammam, nor was I aware that it was a popular pastime here.
So first, let’s back up a bit:
What is a Moroccan hammam?
A hammam entrance in Marrakech … always segregated bathing.
Hammam is just another term for bath.
You may have heard of Turkish or Roman baths, but in Morocco, public bath culture is just as important. In fact men, women and children (segregated, of course) make it a weekly ritual to visit their local hammam. They spend hours bathing, scrubbing off all their dead skin and gossiping with friends.
It really is a very social occasion — just a more nudie one. I am not someone who is backward in going forward, so I decided to give it a go.
What to expect at a Moroccan hammam: (tales from the girls-only zone)
Naturally we cannot show any photos inside the hammam. But take my word for it, it is very different from the streets of Morocco.
The hammam is the only place where women will be uncovered outside of their homes. And it was truly amazing to see how perfectly comfortable they are, even with me there. In fact, many chatted to me and giggled with me as I was led through the hammam ritual for the very first time.
Also, it’s great how curvy everyone is — there are no hangups about weight, and curves are much preferred over skinny in Morocco. My boyfriend, Tom, was (as a joke) offered 300 camels for me as the guy insisted, “I feed my wife couscous day and night and she still doesn’t put on weight — your wife would do a fine job”. As positive body image is a topic I have written on a lot, it was refreshing to walk in and not to feel self conscious. Ladies of all sizes can be comfortable in a Moroccan hammam.
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