Turkish Bath, We Will

The hotel that we decided or rather was suggested to us by the travel agent that we frequented here was located in the one of the expensive tourist areas in Istanbul. Of course we have no clue about the impact that will be on our pocket, at least not until after we have arrived and checked in.

The ride from the Sabiha Gokcen airport to the hotel took more than an hour, we were all piled up in one taxi and by the time we reached the hotel my senses were not focused to be normal. Upon check-in we discovered that the angels were to be located a few rooms away from our room, which of course is a no no for me.

I kept on requesting from the front office to find a room for us next to each other, they were fussing over I don’t know what, and we were all standing and waiting and waiting. Taking nonsense is not in my vocabulary anymore and not at all, so I asked them if I could speak to the Manager. Hardly a minute after my request to speak to the manager, they told us that our rooms are ready and well of course the way I wanted it next to each other.

One thing I learnt while in Turkey especially in the tourist areas, Asians are normally given a second class priority, arrr……………. Again they can go ‘f…k’ themselves, for I will not let anyone treat my family any other way different than the next white person next to me.

The facilities that come with the hotel were good if not great, the buffet breakfast was located on the roof top overlooking a breath taking morning scenery, there was a Turkish Bath, a Jacuzzi pool, a very mini gym, a very mini hair salon, a massage parlor and an evening spread of the local spices, drinks as well as house sweet specialty of the day. It was indeed a comfortable and cozy hotel.

Hubby has been inviting me to visit the Turkish Bath, initially I was game for it, but after we went for the massage, whatever little excitement that I had left for the Turkish Bath was all drained away. Then we decided to try one that was located in the down town, but my speculative mind got the better of me. I cannot imagine being showered, soap, scrubbed and pampered by a total stranger. I managed to influence hubby to ditch the idea of experiencing the Turkish bath.

However, almost anywhere you go in Turkey, you will find at least one Turkish Bath, I was told that they are a novel experience nonetheless. A typical Turkish Bath is commonly known as the Hamam, that consists of three rooms. The first room is the room with a steamy hot bath, the second room is known as the warm room for washing with soap and water. The last room is known as the cool room, this is where you will go to cool down and rest after being pampered.

For this trip no Turkish Bath experience for us, we might on the next trip, InsyaAllah.