Art of a Moroccan Hammam
Indulge in a Traditional Spa Experience

The Art of a Moroccan Hammam

Indulge in a Traditional Spa Experience

The Moroccan bathhouse (hamam; from Arabic ḥammām) is the North African variant of a steam bath. Hammams have played an important role in cultures of the Middle-East and North Africa serving as places of social gathering, ritual cleansing with special customs attached to them. The majority of Moroccans visit a hammam at least once a week. While the process involved in visiting a Hammam is similar to that of a sauna, it is more closely related to the ancient Roman bathing practices.

Whether or not you have received a spa treatment before, a cleanse in a hammam is unparalleled. This is a culturally insightful experience and for some may be life-changing.

While tourists can choose to go to a public hammam to get a traditional Moroccan experience, another option is the more luxurious steam houses that offer massages with Rose water, Orange water as well as Almond Oil rubs.

You can enjoy your Hammma experience in a local upmarket Hammam or Luxury Moroccan Hammam/Spa. We can book a Boutique Hammams directly or you can use the Hammam/Spa at your Riad.

After a long day at the beach, a tour in the Sahara or several days hiking in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, the Hammam is the best way to get blissfully clean.

ABOUT MOROCCAN TRADITION OF HAMMAMS:

Moroccans traditionally perform their own cleanses which involve locating a spot on the floor of a hot room (some people bring their own mats), filling a few buckets with water, and lying there until you sweat out all your impurities. This too is the same process that foreigners and tourists engage in when going to a hammam.

If massage is available at the hammam, be prepared to be well scrubbed (in a hot room) on both sides of your body with a rough flat glove called a kiis. If you find this a little invasive, then you can bring your own kiis. Also, come prepared with your own soap, shampoo, punice stone, towel, and bathing suit- all bathers must display modesty.

Moroccans from all walks of life use hamams as a method of self-cleansing or as a social event. For some Moroccans it is the only way to keep clean as their home may not have running or hot water. Generally, hammams have separate rooms or reserved times for males and females. Few allow genders to mix.