Turkey: Visiting a Hamam

For most people who have been through Asia, when someone mentions a "Turkish bath," their thoughts automatically race to the red light attractions of Japan and Bangkok (and apparently South Korea and China, too) under the thinly-veiled guise  of "bath houses." While they now call them soaplands in Japan and massage parlors in Thailand, they were all originally known as Turkish baths (abbreviated as "Toruko," or basically Turkey, in Japanese) until 1984 when Turkish residents of Japan led by Nusret Sancakli raised a stink about the public besmirching of their homeland and traditions. I don't blame them.

With that interesting aside out of the way, we come from the country of onsens and super sentos—we're not squeamish about getting naked in front of others. As such, whenever we hear about some form of public bathing as an attraction when on vacation, we want to give it a try. So we did.

Hamam what?

Now for starters, what is a hamam is really supposed to be? Basically, it's you paying someone to scrub you down, then give you a massage. It's not sexual at all, which is a good thing since you'll probably wind up with a jovially plump and hairy Turk scrubbing you down. Or at least I did. In normal situations, the hamam will be divided for men and women. Men wash men and women wash women. We did find at least one place we asked though offering mixed baths, in which case a man will be washing you both.

For a brief historical explanation, Turkish baths started popping up circa the 15th century, carrying on the tradition of the Greco-Roman baths of the past. Traditional bath houses are usually quite aesthetically pleasing, complete with a big dome on the inside.

I have to admit that this experience isn't going to be for everyone—after all, it involves getting mostly naked and letting someone else touch your body. If you can stop being such a baby and just get over those little points though, it really is an interesting cultural experience that you're not really going to find in many places. Think of it as a little taste regal extravagance that most of us forego in our pedestrian lives. Now how could you pass that up?

Bath Procedure

Like their Greek and Roman predecessors, hamams are broken into three rooms: a warm room, a hot room and a cold room.

You'll start off by disrobing and fitting yourself with a snazzy plaid bathing towel. You keep this on for the duration, except for the bathing part where it is used to cover up your wedding tackle. Guys will normally not wear anything but the towel, while women may choose to keep their underwear on, usually without the bra.

From here, you'll head into the warm room. This room is designed to be dry and hot for you to just relax for a bit and build up a bit of a sweat. Think of it as a sauna, but bigger and not as hot. We showed up a bit late and were pressed for time, but if you're taking your time then this would be a good time to have a look around and enjoy the architecture.

Fancy-schmancy hot room at some place above our budget, but the concept is the same*

Next, you'll move on to the hot room. You'll notice immediately that there's a big dome overhead and a round marble platform in the middle of the room, flanked on all sides with a bunch of fountains and niches.

You'll normally have to wait your turn here, so grab a seat and sweat another bead or two. When the hairy Turk calls, it's showtime. He'll first don a rough mitt for the scrub massage to remove all that deep-down dirt you were blissfully ignorant of just moments before, along with a few layers of skin. From what I hear, you don't want to come after just getting a tan. It's actually quite a nice massage.

Female hamamist sporting traditional towel*

Next comes the bath portion. He'll first douse you in hot water, then lay you down on the marble slab. Next, he dips a towel in soapy water and then waves it around to collect air like an open pillow case, finally squeezing the contents onto your body for your own personal bubble bath (see picture above). You then get your second massage in the form of a full-body scrub down, minus the nether regions (thank God). This cycle repeats twice—once on the front, then the back—after which you get another liberal dousing of first hot water, then cold water.

From here, they give you a fresh towel and move you onto the cold room, which in our case was basically the reception area. They'll normally serve you tea and snacks while you just relax. Some people will choose to linger a little longer in the hot room or even take a shower or nap before moving onto the cold room, but we didn't bother.

The place we went also offered an oil massage in our package, so we took turns waiting in the cold room while the other person got massaged. The whole thing for us took about an hour.

Prices

Down to the brass tacks, you may be wondering what this little slice of heaven set us back. We paid 45 TL at the hamam we chose in Antalya for a package including the scrub massage, soap massage, oil massage and light snack.

You may hear vastly different prices depending on where you ask—I hear Istanbul and Cappadocia are especially pricey if doing the more touristy hamams. Some hotels will also offer Turkish baths, but from what I've heard these will also cost you more.

Our Hamam

Tarihi Balik Pazari Hamami
Address: Tuzcular Mah. Balk Pazari Sk. Kaleici Antalya

Phone: +90 242 243 61 75

Note: pictures courtesy of Google images

Turkey: Saffron and more in Safronbolu

In the northern reaches of Turkey about 100 kilometers from the Black Sea coast lies a little town that I never knew existed before visiting Turkey: Safronbolu. We added it to the end of our itinerary on the suggestion of a few people, and I'm glad we did.

Safronbolu does have its share of notoriety as a destination, but it gets far more domestic visitors than international. While it doesn't seem to get that much attention from Westerners, we found that it is somewhat known by Japanese travelers... or at least was in its day. Imagine our surprise when we found that the owner of our guesthouse spoke better Japanese than English! There were a handful of others around town that were eager to greet and speak to us in Japanese as well.

This sleepy little town has a real small town feel to it, especially in Old Town. We thought Turkish people were nice before we came, but it's almost hard to believe how nice the people we found here in Safronbolu were. Once when we asked directions, the guy got up and walked us all the way to the place we were looking for. We were treated to multiple cups of tea by shopkeepers—including the local specialty, saffron tea—without even buying anything. At one turn, a shop owner who spoke maybe five words of English invited us into his workshop just to show us his work and awards, then sent us off with a hug and kiss in true Turkish style. Salt of the earth.

So what draws Turks and others to Safronbolu besides the people? Well, a few things.

Classic Architecture in Old Town. The entirety of this town within a town is a living UNESCO World Heritage Site, registered for its classic Ottoman buildings. You can go into the old Cinci Hani inn and a few of the houses and view some truly freakish mock displays of ye olde tyme Ottoman lifestyles if you want a laugh, but I'd say it's more enjoyable just to stroll up and down the hills on the cobblestone streets. Actually no, on second though you should pay the two Lira to go see the displays—they're like a train wreck, you just can't turn your eyes away from them. The bath is a hoot as well, but I won't ruin it for you.

As seen through a glory hole in Cinci Hani

Saffron. It's in the name of the town, so I'm sure you saw this one coming. They do have a number of inventive uses for it though which I enjoyed: tea and lokum. Saffron tea comes in that same Turkish tulip teacup we all love, but is served with honey instead of sugar. Delish! You can buy your own saffron tea as well, and I definitely would have if we wouldn't still be on the road for another nine months.

We had our first cup up at the top of the hill, where there is a clearing past a gate with a little cafe and some other things. It's a great place to stare down at the entire town and take it all in.

But what's lokum, you ask? Well...

Saffron tea

Lokum. You probably know it as Turkish Delight. That's right, this place specializes in it, making all types of flavors. They even make saffron-flavored lokum if you're the two-birds-one-stone type. This is the kind of town that they will offer to load you up with free samples if you even pause for a second in front of the lokum store. My advice: don't fight it. It's delicious, it's sumptuous, it's... downright delightful. Akemi wasn't a fan of the stuff we had found to this point, but even she liked the lokum here. If you're a fan, this is the place to be.

Those are the main draws here. It would only really take you a day to tour the entire Old Town, but the people here make you want to stay a week. We compromised on three days and were quite happy we did.

We can highly recommend our guesthouse, the Efe (Facebook here), even if your English is better than your Japanese. It's family-run, and the mother will help you find everything you could want to see in Safronbolu. The rooms were surprisingly cozy for the price we paid, but more than that was the view. I'll leave you with that view until next time.

View from our guesthouse room

Bethlehem, Palestine: The church where it all started

In a continuation of our Bethlehem series, I'll talk about the church. The other posts are here and here.

No trip to Bethlehem would be complete without a stop by the attraction that really puts it on the map: the Church of the Nativity. While thousands of Christians visit Bethlehem on pilgrimage every day, the birthplace of Christ is worth a look for believers and non-believers alike. Bethlehem is also home to one of the highest ratios of Christian Arabs around the world.

As with the Holy Church of the Sepulcher in Jerusalem, this "church" is actually a collection of chapels sitting atop the grotto as no one denomination of Christianity can really stake their sole claim to this holiest of holy sites. It is currently jointly administered by the Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches with several other chapels from other denominations.

Site Layout

The building itself is quite aesthetically pleasing, even if you're an Ebeneezer Scrooge and don't believe in all this Jesus mumbo-jumbo. (It's OK, he still forgives you.)

Church of St. Catherine

You'll enter through Manger Square, a large paved courtyard in front of the church which basically forms the center of town. Entrance to the church itself is free. When entering the church grounds, you'll have your choice of which area to enter first, the main basilica on the right or the Church of St. Catherine on the left. There are also a few other little chapels hidden around, so be sure to look—I particularly enjoyed the cave section below St. Catherine.

Underneath the basilica is the main attraction: the Grotto. If you thought Jesus was born in a barn, you'd be wrong; it's a little, dinky cave, which is where you would have parked your donkey (let's call him Horace) if you lived 2,000 some odd years ago in this part of the world.

In the cave below St. Catherine's

One of the small pleasures of your visit will be the serenading from other visitors singing hymns. Religious people get really emotional at these kinds of sites, and for good reason. There was a nice rendition of "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" here in the Grotto, but the real show was at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. Hoo boy—all I'll say is that if you ever see an African group touring in Israel, FOLLOW THEM AND WAIT FOR AWESOMENESS. When they sing and worship it is a sight to behold, and they will sing and worship. Often.

All in all, this place is definitely a must-see for any visit to Bethlehem, even for non-Christians.

Other Religious Sites

For those wishing to bask even more in the religious aspects, you can also take a Christmassy tour down to the Shepherd's Fields, where Gabriel and a host of angels were supposed to have visited shepherds to proclaim the birth of Jesus.

While not as important, the Milk Grotto Chapel is another easily accessible religious site. Here, legend has that Mary spilled a few drops of breast milk when fleeing for Egypt, turning the whole cavern milky white.

The tomb of Rachel, wife to Jacob, is supposed to be the second most sacred site in Bethlehem to Christians. Unfortunately, that damn wall is now in the way. Rachel's Tomb is now only accessible from Jerusalem via Egget bus, making it virtually inaccessible from Bethlehem.

Israel (Palestine): Oh Little Town of Bethlehem - Banksy's Wall

Last time around, I talked a little about the whole Israel-Palestine situation that casts its shadow over poor little Bethlehem, not to mention all the other Palestinian towns out there. I hear Hebron in particular is interesting.

Other than the obvious religious connections in Bethlehem, there is a new attraction that everyone seems eager to cash in on: Banksy tours. For those not in the know, Banksy is a British graffiti artist whose art almost always has some sort of message, politically-charged or otherwise. In two trips in 2005 and 2007, he and his crew put up 12 images on the wall and about town in his form of support for the Palestinian cause. (view video here) He's done plenty of work not only in the UK and Palestine, but also New Orleans, San Francisco, Melbourne and other locations.

We saw this Japanese tag in addition to tags in Korean, Spanish and many other languages

Since the wall went up in 2002, there have been plenty of artists from all over the world as well as right around the corner who tag their messages here in protest of the wall's mere existence. The Israeli government hates the art and destroys it at every opportunity, but they know very well that every bit covered up will just be tagged again by someone else in no time—there's nary a place left bare on the entire wall at this point. Banksy wasn't the first to etch something here and definitely wasn't the last, but he is probably the most famous, lending legitimacy and a spotlight to the cause.

This leads us to what has become one of the most common Bethlehem attraction in recent years, the tour. Just about any taxi driver in town will gladly drive you around town in search of the remaining Banksy images in town. A good tour should also include a tour of the local refugee camp, another interesting site that requires explanation to really appreciate.

If pressed for time, you can make your contribution to the local economy by either taking a taxi driver up on their offers for an unofficial tour or soliciting one of several companies who is taking this up as their business. The official tours will probably run about 50 USD/person; if you take an unofficial tour, be sure that both you and the driver are clear on exactly what is included. If you have the time or are just too cheap to pay someone, walking or biking would be another option. As we found out, taking time to talk to local shop owners can be just as if not more informative than a tour guide.

Some locals have also opened a store now close to the checkpoint called Banksy's shop that sells copies of the Banksy originals in several forms along with other choice art pieces and some kitschy souvenirs. We stopped in and bought some postcards while chatting with the owner, who definitely had a bunch to say about the state of things (note: so does just about Palestinian you find that can speak English well).

As for the original Banksy pieces, we saw three of the five that currently remain, all within easily walkable distance from the center of town. I knew where another was, but it wasn't as accessible without a driver.

Here are the locations of the pieces that I know:

• Girl with balloons: right in front of the Banksy Shop. I think this is actually a copy of the original though.

• Girl frisking a soldier: opposite the Intercontinental Hotel, which is only a block or two straight down the street from the end of the wall.

• Armored dove: right outside the Palestinian Heritage Center. I hear the center itself is not a bad way to spend some time if have some to spare. 

• Flower thrower (not pictured): it's supposed to be in Beit Sahour on the way to the Shepherd's Fields.

The art here at the wall is constantly changing as artists write over one another, but I enjoyed just taking my time to view the whole thing. Banksy wasn't the only one with something to say, and some of the work here is excellent. A simple walk up to the wall is rather awe-inspiring if you're not the tour type.

Here's some more non-Banksy pieces we saw:

Palestine: Another Brick in the Wall

It's been a while!

We're now well along with our trip, currently in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and I have quite a bit of catching up to do. Mostly in an attempt to keep myself from getting bored writing only about stuff from fully three months past at this point, I'll be doing a bunch of hopping around. Variety is the spice of life and all that.

What better place to start than Bethlehem? We spent a couple days here back in mid-November—my how time flies. Anyway, it was quite the eye opener into the daily goings of a society effectively silenced by the media and their ruling counterparts in Israel. Travelling the world really is the best education there is for some things. You're not likely to meet a Palestinian abroad with all the restrictions they face, so really the best way to learn about the situation is to just go there.

First, some background for those not aware as this stuff doesn't exactly make the mainstream news, especially in the US. It really is an incredibly complex situation when you break it down.

Let's start off simple. Israel is actually two states, Israel and Palestine, neither of which recognize each other. The Palestinian territories have been slowly whittled down through the years through the expansion of Israeli settlements and various other events.

Israel and Palestinian territories through the years

Palestine IDs and Travel Documents

Israelis aren't normally allowed into the Palestinian areas and vice versa. Doing so requires either a special ID or special permission. We got a breakdown of what this means to Palestinians from our hosts at the guesthouse we stayed at and shop owners around town.

First, Palestinians will have one of two types of IDs: Jerusalem ID or Palestine ID. Those with Jerusalem IDs are allowed free passage between borders at any time, but they are only permitted to sleep in Palestine one night a week. Jerusalem IDs also get spiffy yellow license plates for their cars so the guards at the checkpoints can distinguish from the white Palestinian plates and whisk them through.

Those with Palestine IDs are only permitted entry into Israel with special permission, and even then they have to be back by sundown or face strict questioning and general harassment. This special permission is apparently not so easy to come by; there are no work permits, so this severely limits work opportunities, in addition to limiting access to proper medical care and other things.



Now here's where it really gets complex: what happens when a Jerusalem ID and Palestine ID get married? The family at the guesthouse was in just such a situation. The wife, a Jerusalem ID, comes into Bethlehem everyday but returns to a house on the Israeli side on all but one night a week with her daughter, also a Jerusalem ID. The husband has to stay in Palestine for the duration, although he was never home due to work.

The children born into this arrangement get divided: half get Jerusalem IDs, half get Palestine IDs. They had four children, with the youngest daughter still in high school. The daughter has a Jerusalem ID, so she has to return with her mother everyday to Jerusalem where she goes to school.

While many Palestinians simply don't have the means, those that do want to travel are presented with another headache: passports. The Palestinian Authority does issue passports, but they require pre-arranged visas for all countries but Jordan. Most Palestinians that travel thus have Jordanian passports for travelling, although they aren't issued national ID numbers. Some countries thus have restrictions on Jordanian passports without national ID numbers, effectively meaning Palestinians.

The Wall: Apartheid Alive and Well

Eight meters of love

Between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, we found an 8m-high separation wall (the Berlin Wall was only four meters, for reference), which spanned 486 of a planned 760 kilometers in 2009. This wall was built in 2002 in response to the Second Intifada, which if you're anything like me probably got lost in your memory banks amidst the myriad of endless conflicts in this area. The particular incident that lead to the wall concluded in a standoff with Palestinians in the Church of Nativity in which eight were killed and 40 wounded, some of them civilians and priests. The Hague ruled the wall illegal in 2004, and yet here it stands.

Besides simply casting a dark shadow of general malaise and bad mojo, this wall affects every Palestinian within its confines in a number of ways. First, it was all built in Palestinian territory, closing off Palestinians from 16,000 acres of land that was formerly theirs in the Bethlehem district alone. This separated villagers from their orchards, fields, water supplies, and even stores in some cases. We heard a story of one family who had a store right next to their house: their store is now on the Israeli side while their home still sits in Palestine, effectively killing their livelihood.

Given how voiceless they are on in world forum, Palestinians are very eager to let the outside world in on their plights. In Bethlehem just outside the Church of the Nativity, there's plenty of information on their side of the whole Israel-Palestine situation awaiting the curious at the tourist information center. There are two sides to every story, but most of the time we hear only the Israeli side.

Visiting Bethlehem

Considering all the difficulties Palestinians are subjected to, the hassles you'll experience visiting Palestine are trivial. First, if you plan on visiting Palestine on your trip to Israel, do not say anything about it at the border. Best to save yourself that headache—it'll just mean more questions.

For self-guided tours, only Arab buses are permitted to travel from Israel to Palestine—in our case, Jerusalem to Bethlehem—but even these are limited to daytime hours. No buses will run directly into town after about 6 PM, instead dropping you on the Israeli side of the checkpoint. You'll have to cross the border yourself and find your own transport on the other side. Taxis are lined up just waiting to overcharge you. The bus from Jerusalem to Bethlehem only takes about 30 minutes, so it's best to just leave in time to avoid this situation.

Safety was a non-issue compared to other places we've been, but I'd take care walking around aimlessly at night. Most Palestinians are very welcoming to visitors though and will gladly guide you around. We stayed a good 10-15 minutes walk from the main area centered on the Church of the Nativity, but there are plenty of places to stay closer in.

Given its proximity, there are also day tours visiting from Jerusalem. We didn't take this option, but I'm sure if you ask any hotel in Jerusalem they'll tell you all about it. We ran across at least one guy who rented a bicycle in Jerusalem for a self tour. He seemed to be getting around well enough.

Compared to Israel, you'll experience a noted degradation in quality standards of life as soon as you cross the checkpoint. There's less sanitation, poor access to hospitals, and less upkeep in general. It's like a third world Arab country in the middle of a first world Israel. You also may have trouble finding a bank that'll let you withdraw shekels, so bring enough with you if possible. Some ATMs there even tried to issue us Jordanian Dinars! I'm guessing this means that JD are accepted in Palestine, but I haven't tested that theory.

More on what there is to see in Bethlehem in our next episode.