If you ever visit Morocco (or Barcelona), then enjoying a hammam is an essential tourist experience, but for the newcomer, the words hammam, gommage and rhassoul can leave you confused and nervous when entering traditional baths.
But even for the seasoned visitor, the tkissila, an amazing secret acrobatic massage passed down from father to son and practiced only in a few select places around the world, takes the hammam experience to a new level.
Here, I take you through the different stages of the traditional experience and divulge the secrets of tkissila for the more adventurous spa visitor.
Turkish bath
I have been confused by this description as it is usually described as a Turkish steam bath. Our hotel in Barcelona, for example, was described as having a hammam, which was actually a sauna and steam room. Don’t get me wrong, they were great, but they weren’t what I expected.
In Morocco and Barcelona our hammam was a hot room, with a water fountain, so it was somewhere between a sauna and a steam bath. The Barcelona hammam also had a very hot steam bath, a plunge pool, rain showers and bowls and sinks of Arabic water, so you could relax and refresh yourself.
At the Palais Rhoul in Marrakech, you actually lie on the floor to let the heat rise through the mat and into your body.
The Turkish baths are really nice, especially when it’s cold outside, but you have to remember to drink plenty of water, most will give you bottles of water to drink if you want, or bring your own.
Some hammams are co-ed and require a bathing suit, and some are single-sex where you can go nude, but always check first, some single-sex still require a bathing suit.
If in doubt, ask exactly what the details are; Don’t be embarrassed, everyone seems to be different!
Traditional Scrub
Literally an exfoliation (in French), in traditional hammams this means that someone will first wash you, usually with black soap (black soap), which is a beautiful ritual and then use a gommage or scrub mitt to remove all the dead skin from your body.
When we went to a hammam in Agadir, Morocco, we thought there would be almost no dry skin left after 3 days on the beach. We were also a bit concerned by some of the stories from people who had tried hammams in other places, so we asked for a gentle wash, gentle wash.
He rubbed so hard that it was actually bordering on painful, which I thought was a bit unnecessary, until he rubbed my forearm and I saw rolls of dead skin peel off. He disgusted me and I thought how dirty Moroccans must think we are: they do it once a week!
Although in some places you can keep the bikini and/or paper panties, am I really saying what’s the point? After 2 minutes I didn’t know if he was rubbing my breasts or my back. Speaking of which, it is the best back scrub I have ever had. I often have an itchy patch between my shoulder blades; she just rubbed it right away, leaving it soft and smooth.
For the next few days I couldn’t help but run my hands over my skin. And I kept scrubbing at home with a glove that I bought in Agadir, and I saw that the dead skin was peeling off the glove! Sadly it fell apart so I am now looking for a serious cleaning mitt in the UK but no luck so far!
I heard that Gommage is not suitable for people with sensitive skin, but I have very sensitive skin and I love it and I feel that it only does good for my skin.
A traditional scrub will leave your skin so soft that you won’t be able to stop stroking it.
rhassoul
Rhassoul is a type of therapeutic mud. And a rhassoul treatment is basically when, usually after a gommage, you are soaked in rhassoul mud, left to “bake” for a while in a hammam, and then washed.
It can get a little hot, and if it’s your first time in a hammam I would recommend against it, maybe up the ante as too many treatments in one go can dehydrate you, if you haven’t been drinking enough water or simply because of the detox effects of the massage.
I’ve enjoyed the treatment, but haven’t really noticed much of a specific effect, but it does smell great.
tkissila
Tkissila (also sometimes written as Teksilla, Teskssila, and Tkssila) is an ancient form of Moroccan massage, which I understand now is practiced only by two brothers, descendants of a long line of practitioners, in Marrakech.
A cross between a massage and the kind of manipulation you might get from a physiotherapist, the fact that it’s done on a heated floor means the muscles are already relaxed and it’s much easier.
I experienced this at the Palais Rhoul in Marrakech. When you enter the royal hammam, you won’t find opulent, colorful mosaics or, indeed, a steam room or heated benches to sit on.
If you decide to just go for a massage, like my sister did, then you can go nude, as the masseuse is a woman, but if you go for the traditional tkissila (pronounced tuxedo – tuxila), then be sure to wear your bikini (and make sure it’s sturdy!)
My masseuse and his brother are masters of the art of Tkissila, descendants of a long line of practitioners and this is one of only two places that I know of where you can get this treatment (his brother works next door at the more expensive spa).
So… first I was led by the lady in charge to a plain brown cell and asked to sit on what looked like a yoga mat on the floor.
It may not be everyone’s cup of tea to have big buckets of warm water thrown at them, but as long as you keep your mouth shut, it’s like being in a nice warm waterfall.
He grabbed the black soap with eucalyptus, soaped me efficiently and left me lying on the floor.
I was a bit disappointed. No steam, no fancy bench, no original mosaics, just some cool subtle lighting. It didn’t look like the best spa in the world. It took me a while to realize that the heat in the room was actually going up through the floor and upon lying down my body would slowly begin to relax.
That’s when my massager came in. After a few days of covering myself from neck to ankles, I had been a bit self-conscious about my bare legs at lunch. Suddenly, I was in a little brown cell with a Moroccan man wearing nothing but a pair of swimming shorts (and I was in my bikini!) But it didn’t really feel weird when he put on his Palais Rhoul gommage mitt and started rubbing me all over.
Unlike my experience in Agadir a few years ago, this scrubbing was not rough at all, but I could see the rolls of dead skin coming off. According to my masseur, the cheap gloves (about 20dh – 1.50lbs) that I had bought in the market were useless, his type of glove was much better quality (about 50dh – 4lbs) and exfoliated all the dead and dirty skin without hurting at all. (He introduced it to Me at the end too).
After washing, he got down to business. It’s funny, last year I saw a physio who had manipulated my spine and there were times when, even fully clothed, I felt very uncomfortable having my foot on a guy’s shoulder while he was pulling my leg in the other direction. In fact, I felt quite comfortable with it this time. Even when he was lying on his stomach and he was pulling my hips into the air. There were clicks, a bit of tension, but nothing painful or even really uncomfortable, although I think I did inhale or exhale in the wrong places at times.
Then it got weird.
My masseuse lay down on the mat, knees up, and that’s when he asked me to sit on his knees.
Glad I speak French or this could have been a very different review.
One minute I was balancing on my bottom on his knees, the next I was flying, watching the room whiz by, not quite sure which side was up. I suddenly realized why, as the dramatic shape of the door flew by, this is a very quiet room. If there had been a lot of colors I probably would have gotten dizzy!
When my feet landed on the ground I was laughing. Then he made me do it again, this time in reverse. I sat down at his feet and leaned back. Anyone who has done that confidence exercise of falling backwards will understand that I felt euphoric and ridiculous at the same time.
By the end, I was laughing and amazed, both at the fact that I had done it and enjoyed it, and at the experience itself.
He sat me down on the floor and washed everything, including my hair, with orange blossom products. When we were done, she dried my hair, tied my robe on, and told me I would sleep like a baby tonight.
I sat on the bench by the pool for a while, until the masseuse lady came to get me and gave me my final relaxing massage (removing my wet bikini).
I would do it again? I’m not sure if he’s a regular for me, or once in a lifetime (our taxi driver said it should be twice a week!) and I don’t think it’s for everyone. When he was done, he left me alone in the room so he could completely relax me, and it was so hard to get up when he came back!
While my masseuse described the usual local hammam, gommage and massage as “for the tourists”, there is something enchanting about that experience as well, and I would certainly recommend it. But I’m so glad I tried the tkissila too. It was certainly a revelation and a new level of experience for me.