Futbol wa Hamam

After class today, Ayoub and Omar invited me and ten other American students to play futbol (soccer) on Rabat’s main bahrr (beach). It was an absolutely gorgeous day, not too hot, but certainly warm enough to jump in the ocean after our two hour game. All of the other American students love being with my brothers, as do I, and I am certainly very lucky to be part of such a warm and loving family. Also, I am able to speak french to them, while others are not, so we have already began developing inside jokes, etc. Whenever people are playing soccer, whether on the beach or in a vacant lot in the medina, everyone who is nearby sits and watches. We had over 40 people watching our pickup game!

Rabat's cemetery...right on the beach

After the game, Ayoub took me to the hamam (public bath house). I had been to a hamam in Istanbul once or twice before, but it was truly more of a luxury spa when I went. However the hamams in Rabat are authentic, local landmarks located throughout the medina’s various mintaqas (neighborhoods) with many natives who come to wash after a hard week of work. There are three rooms, ba’yet skoun (hot), ba’yet shweeya (middle), and ba’yet bard (cold). 

Oh yea, Moroccans only bathe in the hamam once per week, a huge difference between culture here and in the US. However, last night we spent two full hours in the hamam last night, and believe me, I am much cleaner now than if I showered twice a day every week in America!

There are over 30 hamams in Rabat’s old city and each one has a different layout and set of regulations. I was happy that Ayoub took me for my first time because I would have truly been lost without him. There are designated hours for men and women, so we went from 8-10pm. Before we went, he took me to buy the authentic soap, two types of hand scrubbers, a chair, and two buckets. Inside, we entered the hamam wearing underwear and went straight to the ba’yet skoun. First, we filled multiple buckets with water and began dousing ourselves and washing with soap (a sort of homemade gelatin found throughout the medina). Then, without any soap left on our bodies, we began scrubbing with a rough mitten. All the men in the hamam help each other by scrubbing backs and arms, the body parts that are impossible to clean well ourselves. After removing a week’s worth of dead skin, you bathe at your own pace while relaxing in the hamam’s heat and steam. Little by little, we progressed throughout the rooms, finishing with a bucket of freezing cold water over our heads in ba’yet bard. It was the perfect way to relax after two hours of futbol fouq bahrr!

I might have to go more than once a week during my time in Morocco...