through my eyes... the world according to a globe-trotting, sight-seeing, day-tripping, frequent-flying damsel in de-stress

I can't finish writing about Turkey without mentioning our trip to a traditional hamam, or Turkish bath. I wasn’t sure what to expect at first, but I was ready for a bit of relaxation. The Turkish bath experience goes like this: you arrive, remove your shoes, and change into something that looks like a sarong. Then, you enter a marble room that is heated to 100 degrees. This room has a cold shower, several basins from which to pour cool water over yourself, and a large marble platform in the center where you can sit or lie down. There is also a sauna in the room, should the main room not be quite hot or humid enough for you. You lie down and sweat the toxins out of your body for about 45 minutes, and then you go into another room where the masseurs massage you with warm, soapy water, and then scrub you down to exfoliate the top layer of skin. When you’re done, you exit into the lobby and have a leisurely sit-down while an attendant serves you a refreshing glass of apple tea. The entire experience is extremely therapeutic and by the time I left, I felt cleaner, fresher, and more relaxed than I had for a very long time. I highly recommend it!