Having a Turkish bath (hammam) is one of the experiences I was most looking forward to on this trip, and it went beyond my expectations. Istanbul seems to have as many Turkish baths as mosques so I chose a historic one near the hotel for my friend Dotty and I. We were led by female attendants to the women’s changing area and given a wrap to strip down to. Then we went to an area of fountains and were told to lay on a heated marble platform. Our attendants poured hot water all over our bodies and then scrubbed us with a loofah. More hot water, washing with foam, and another rinse followed. The final part of the bath was a full body mud mask which was left on for a few minutes before another rinse. Then we put on our wraps again and went into a room where we were given some tea. As Dotty and I were discussing whether that was the end of the sensual experience, the attendants came for us again and took us to yet another different room. There we received a full body oil massage. Ahhhh…

I was ready to melt. Between spiritual and physical sensations we did manage to pack in several beautiful mosques, which I’m sorry to say I can’t remember the names of. Although it was a bit of a jet lagged blur, I loved every moment of them, with their awesome mosaic tiles, prayer rugs, and ablution fountains. So different from our Christian cathedrals but with no less artistic splendor.