Yesterday, I went to a new (to me) and fabulous place in Amman - the Al-Pasha Turkish Bath. This bathhouse is housed in an old house in Amman's oldest neighborhood. The hours and the staff are gender segregated. A female friend and I went in the morning when the customers and staff are all women - in the evenings all-men. Our fellow-customers were a mix of older Arabic women and a bridal party - you could tell this because they were prone to ululating in the sauna (and because my friend asked).
You enter into the house into a covered courtyard filled with Damascene furniture and with beautiful glass lamps and lots of pet parakeets and finches.
A Turkish bath has several steps:
1. A regular shower
2. Sit in a sauna
3. Sit in a hot tub and drink hibiscus juice
4. Get scrubbed with a loufah
5. Have a massage
6. Take another regular shower.
In Arabic class we learned a polite greeting that is used when greeting someone coming out of the shower (also after they get a haircut) - since Dan and I don't speak Arabic at home, I had never heard the shower-greeting in context until this Friday - when I was indeed greeted with "Naiman" after the second shower step. Unfortunately, I could not remember the correct response (all greetings have appropriate responses) - but was able to at least smile and say thank you and say how much I enjoyed the experience.
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