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I Entered a Hammam in Morocco to Explore One of Islam’s Most Ancient and Honored Rituals. Does “Fish Out of Water” Ring a Bell?
I followed Rayna through a narrow archway and down two steep levels of stone steps into the bowels of the Riad Kalaa in Rabat. We were way down there.
Inside I found three dark rooms, one with a tub (too small for a human), the other two with large tables — one stone and one wooden. The whole scene looked like a great place to hold the Spanish Inquisition. The rooms were pristine, but I wondered if the Riad had always been home to a hammam. It was built in the 1600s. Maybe it used to serve as a medieval dungeon.
Rayna chuckled and said she didn’t know, but explained that the hammam ritual was routine for Moroccan muslims. Then she shot me a look as if to say, “Really … you’re gonna like it.”
I checked for chains and manacles anyway.
Despite my imaginary misgivings, I could tell the place was the real thing, even if I didn’t know what kind of real thing. But then, you know… novelty. I had to…
