Hot & Steamy: Hammams -- The traditional Turkish steam bath plays an important role in the community as a gathering place for both men and women. Within Morocco, there are public hammams in almost every city, town, and village, and this is often the only place to get clean for those households that still lack running water. There's also a strong religious connotation attached to the hammam, with many Muslims cleansing themselves here before prayer. Morocco's public hammams are largely welcoming to visitors, bar those located close to mosques and other Islamic monuments. Public hammams are strictly segregated -- some may be men- or women-only, or have separate entrances, while others are open to a particular sex at specific hours or on separate days. Entrance is usually 5dh (65¢/30p) per person per session, paid to an attendant at the hammam entrance, where bathers belongings are stored for safekeeping.
Once changed into hammam attire, bathers head into the steam rooms, locate an empty bucket and scoop, find a spot to sit down, and begin the process of opening the pores through sweating, interspersed with an alternate dousing of hot and cold water from the bucket, filled from a communal tap located within the room. Moroccans also like to indulge in some grommage (a rigorous exfoliation performed with a harsh, flannel glove), a body wrap or hair wash using a fine clay mixed with herbs and lavender called ghassoul, or a simple body wash with sabon bildi, a black, oily, olive oil-based, gel-like soap. There are usually attendants on hand who offer these traditional services, as well as an on-the-floor massage, for a small gratuity of around 20dh ($2.50/£1.25).
Reception staff at any good hotel or maison d'hôte will be able to direct travelers to the nearest public hammam. Take your own towel, a change of underwear/shorts, soap (though this can usually also be purchased at the hammam), shampoo (if required), and a plastic mat to sit on. Tourist-friendly and in-house hammams (such as those listed below and throughout this book) will usually provide the towel and soap, and won't require the plastic mat.
In the medina is Hammam Ziani, 14 rue Riad Zitoun Jdid (tel. 062/715571), where you can get a massage, scrub, seaweed bath, mud wrap, bathrobe, and toiletries bag for 300dh ($38/£19). A simple massage and scrub is 155dh ($19/£9) Monday to Thursday and 165dh ($21/£10) Friday to Sunday and public holidays. Open daily for men and women (separate entrances) from 8am to 10pm.
Les Secrets de Marrakech, 62 rue de la Liberté, Guéliz (tel. 024/434848), is a very classy hammam and spa that offers a variety of massages, aromatherapy treatments, body wraps, and pedicures. They also sell an exquisite range of natural soaps, scrubs, bath salts, and oils. A full 1 1/2-hour package costs 580dh to 680dh ($73-$85/£36-£43), and includes entrance into the hammam followed by a grommage, body wrap in ghassoul or argan and cinnamon oil, and a massage. Open Monday to Saturday for both genders from 10am to 8pm.
Many maisons d'hôte and high-end hotels have in-house hammams, but most of these are for guests only. The small hammam and massage room at the Jnane Mogador, however, is open to the public by appointment between 9am and 11pm daily. It offers a Berbère Hammam exfoliation scrub, natural soap wash, and mud body wrap for 125dh ($16/£8); a range of 45-minute massages including sports, Californian, Thai, and shiatsu runs from 180dh to 400dh ($23-$50/£11-£25).
