TURKISH DELIGHT

 

How about a Turkish bath?  Is that a Turkish delight, or what?  (We did have some of that as well.)  On 9 October we visited the port of Marmaris on the south east coast of Turkey. This is a beautiful mountainous area.  We followed a very picturesque  access way through the myriad of islands which are here on the Turkish coast. 

At this port of call we had opted for a side tour to experience a Turkish bath.  After undressing to wear a swim suit, we joined our group in a dry sauna, where we all got very warm.  After this we went into the room where there was a large marble table in the middle.  This room was also very warm and it was humid. The marble slab was actually hot, but we were expected to lie down on it and relax.  Obviously this continued to open up our pores. 

To cool off some, we could pour on tepid water, Corrie and I did this to each other!  This was great fun!  After this the attendants came to scrub all the dead skin off the exposed parts of the body,  - so the men got a better job than the women, more exposed skin... 

After this we were expected to take a shower.  Although the water was not really cold, it was not warm by any means. Because I was really warm from all the exposure to heat, it really did take my breath away!  Felt like a cold shower by any means.

Hereafter we got a olive oil soap wash and massage.  The table became really slick, but the attendants were standing right up to the edge of the table, so that I did not slide off.  After this another cold shower!  Which actually started to feel really good.  Took a few more of those, while waiting for others in our group to get washed. 

 Once this was all done, we were wrapped in three towels and had an opportunity to replenish some of our body fluids with sweet Turkish apple tea.  Quite a great experience. 


 There was an option for a full body massage as well, at extra expense, but we were relaxed enough, so we waited at the pool side for every one to get done and took the bus back to the ship.