Istanbul was Constantinople

by cheyney









They Might Be Giants put this place on the map for me when I was a kid and I have been interested in going there since. It was so interesting to be in a Muslim country. It was during Ramadan and so there was a party every night. We went to Mosques, Cistern, Sultan's palace and Harem, Spice Street and new city.

One of my favorite experiences was the Turkish Bath. It was not particularly relaxing or even enjoyable. I felt like a little kid getting a scrub down from my mom. First we had to purchase an abrasive wash cloth for them to scrub our dead skin away.
They separated us, men and women (the women were mostly nakey). I was introduced to "my lady" who took me into a big room with lots of sinks, where I was supposed to rinse off with warm water. Then she took me on a stone slab in the middle of the room (with many others) and harshly scrubbed my whole body with the tough wash cloth and showed me all of my dead skin. I guess, this turkish bath was long over due. Then more rinsing and back to the stone slab for a "massage" which was soapy and quick. The stone was slippery but she would push and pull me to where she wanted me. "Sit up, flip over." Really, like a mom cleaning her kid.
Then back to the sinks for a shoulder and face "massage" and hair wash. I sat on the floor in between her legs. My face massage consisted of her rubbing shampoo in my face. I finally realized that this was not supposed to be relaxing just cleansing.

What an experience! The dressing room was nice and I tried my first turkish delight, not so bad covered in coconut. Now my body is totally exfoliated.