The Hammam !

Fatima led Debbi and Sally back out into the souk and then down an even narrower alley. She opened a nondescript looking door and they found themselves in a small reception area. A bored woman, in traditional dress like Fatima, looked up at their arrival. She exchanged a few animated words with Fatima, who then indicated two tiny cubicles with flimsy curtains. "Take all clothes off" she barked. Fatima professed not to speak English but she had mastered a few phrases necessary for her calling ! "You sure this is alright ?" wondered Sally nervously. "Where's your spirit of adventure ?" laughed Debbi, heading into the first of the cubicles.

Both women undressed completely. There was no locker, just a stool on which to drape their clothes. Debbi poked her head around the curtain. "Is there a towel ?" she asked. Fatima looked at her blankly and then simply beckoned her to come out. Debbi's adventurous spirit had sunk somewhat as she emerged, feeling awkward to be standing naked in front of two fully clothed Moroccan women and glancing nervously at the street door through which they had recently entered, lest it should open and expose her to public gaze. Sally remained in her cubicle, peering around the curtain.

But Fatima opened the door at the other end of the short corridor and gestured for Debbi to step through. Sally quickly scuttled after her to avoid being left behind. Both English women were astonished at the sight which now greeted them. The dinginess of the entrance lobby was replaced by a light and spacious chamber, with a vaulted dome and gleaming tiles. The whole space had an opulent airy ambience. They appeared to be the only patrons, though there was marble bench seating around the walls and five marble tables set at waist height in the centre of the room.

Remembering the Japanese onsen, Debbi looked around for the baths but there were none, only an intense steam heat and a floor on which it was impossible to stand still for more than a few seconds in their bare feet, such was the temperature generated. Both girls wished they could communicate more fully with Fatima, so as to better understand the procedure. But as another woman entered through a side door, Fatima demonstrated that they should go and lie down on two of the marble slabs !