29/09/2015
THESE ARE THE BEST HAMMAMS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
The basics of this centuries-old tradition remain unchanged, but modern luxuries take it to a whole new – and indulgent – realm. Here's a roundup of the chicest and most luxurious hammams in the Middle East
Carving out some bath time – perhaps even a whole day – for leisure, relaxation and to pamper the skin may sound like a decidedly modern concept, but the sybaritic ancient Greeks and Romans were well ahead of us when they began indulging in regular trips to thermae baths more than 2,000 years ago. Here, bathers induced sweat by moving through progressively hotter rooms before being massaged with oils and receiving a thorough skin scrubbing.
But if it was the Roman Empire that started the bathing ritual, it was the Ottoman Empire that perfected it in the form of the hammam. Dishing out funds to create lavishly constructed and richly decorated hammams – some of which are still in use today in Istanbul – these public baths were open to the community from sunrise to sundown.
Supplied with wooden clogs to prevent slipping and a soft cotton wrap, guests would first head to a warm room for relaxation, then a hot room to encourage perspiration, before entering a steam and massage room. Lying on marble slabs, a masseuse vigorously massaged and scrubbed the bather with a rough mitt and foaming soap to remove dead cells and reveal glowing, healthy skin.
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After a rinse, it was off to a cooling room – which doubled as an important centre for socialising. In the men’s room, news and gossip was exchanged alongside business meetings and philosophical debates; women gathered in their own room to nibble on sweets, listen to music or even keep an eye out for potential daughter-in-laws.
Embracing the centuries-old tradition of communal bathing, the heated marble Turkish hamman at Jumeirah Zabeel Saray’s award-winning spa is spacious enough for up to four spa-goers at once (though there is one semi-private area and a private hammam just for couples).
The largest hammam in the Middle East, it’s decorated with ornate columns, dark woods, mosaics and hand-painted ceilings, giving it a palatial feel. Booking in for the aptly named Royal Ottoman treatment begins with a rather vigorous full-body polish using a traditional kese mitt to remove dead skin cells and improve circulation before you are cocooned in a foam cloud through which your therapist will massage you from head to toe to pe*****te the soap into the skin and relieve any tension.
After the foam is rinsed away with warm water from shallow copper dishes, you’ll be treated to an indulgent shampoo and scalp massage followed by an application of conditioner. The royal treatment concludes with a nourishing honey and sesame seed face and body mask and final rinse, leaving your skin radiant and delicately fragranced. Guests are gifted with an evil eye bracelet (a symbol of Turkish hammams) and invited to relax in a private cabana with a rehydrating yoghurt drink, dates and dried fruits.
While its use as a hotspot for social gatherings died out after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, much of the hammam ritual – steamy rooms to melt stress and skin-renewing scrubbing atop smooth marble – has remained unchanged into the 21st century.
And around North Africa and the Middle East, from Dubai to Muscat, opulent hammams with state-of-the-art amenities continue welcome modern hedonists. Today’s version of the the indulgent bathing treatment leaves no stone unturned, and includes massage oils infused with precious elements like gold and diamond, clay scrubs from far-flung locales and steam rooms scented with exotic aromas.
In the heart of this opulent Arabian Sea-inspired hotel in Abu Dhabi you can find a traditional Moroccan hammam kitted out to appease any and all pampering desires. Two whirlpool baths, two steam rooms, heated marble and even an ice cave await guests at this exclusive haven of wellness. And, just like the over-the-top opulent surroundings in the hotel, the hammam treatments, taken from beneath a deep blue, domed ceiling mimicking a star-lit evening sky, are just as exceptional.
The region’s love for fine natural fragrances and hard-to-obtain ingredients is indulged in the Palace Rose hammam treatment, as rose ghassoul clay (the beautifying ghassoul mineral is found exclusively beneath the Atlas Mountains) and rose shea butter serve to brighten the skin. But it’s difficult to top the Mystic Moroccan experience, which will leave the bather’s skin sparkling.
None of the usual cleansers will do here – for those taking on this treatment, which lasts for two-and-half hours, a gold eucalyptus soap starts off the journey before exfoliation and hydration with scrubs and wraps takes place. The icing on the cake is a body massage with Amra’s diamond serum, sure to leave you feeling – and looking – like a million dollars.
The building that houses The Ritz-Carlton Grand Canal, Abu Dhabi may be inspired by Venice, but inside at its ESPA hammam, guests are transported to the region’s Bedouin past. Bathed in creamy golds, and featuring natural materials like brown onyx and limestone, the atmosphere is set to take spa-goers away from the daily hustle and bustle, and transport to a realm of relaxation.
Decorated with Bedouin chests to invoke a sense of travel, elegance still reigns supreme throughout the separate men’s and women’s relaxation areas – both indoors and out, the tranquil space gives the illusion of time standing still while gardens showcase meticulous grooming and a plunge pool beckons for a refreshing dip after a lengthy steam.
Making the most of your experience, the two-hour Oasis Ritual includes an invigorating body scrub to loosen the muscles, soothe joints and increase circulation before a scalp massage and body massage with warm oil melts any lingering stress away. An Indulgence Hammam treatment is ideal for those looking for the very best skin results: in addition to an exfoliating scrub, a nourishing marine mud body wrap is sure to bring out the best in your epidermis. The final result? A serene state of body and mind, and enviable silky-smooth skin.
Anantara’s spas are acclaimed for their state-of-the-art treatments and facilities across the globe, but at Eastern Mangroves Hotel & Spa in Abu Dhabi, in their modish Turkish Bath House where a soft glow emanates from warm, inset lights against metallic mosaic walls, the clock gets turned back several centuries. Taking a cue from the Ottomans’ favourite bathing pastime, here the hammam is vaunted once again as a place for social gatherings.
The Social Hammam welcomes a group of at least four – preparing for a wedding, celebrating a birthday or even just for a pampering gossip session – to experience the culture of a 14th-century Turkish bath. Tucked away together in your own private hammam, a traditional bath complete with steaming, exfoliation and a foam massage is followed by ample time for socialising.
Afterwards, sipping an iron drink to help replenish nutrients and nibbling on Turkish sweets and fresh fruits while in the company of your closest confidantes, it’s clear why your great-great-great ancestors kept this fad en vogue for hundreds of years. But if it’s “me time” you’re after – not to fret – there are plenty of one-on-one treatments, like a skin-firming Turkish Coffee Ritual, to satisfy.
Drenched in natural light from the Arabian Gulf’s clear, blue skies, a trip to this hammam is a double getaway with its location just offshore of Doha on private-island retreat Banana Island Resort Doha by Anantara. Fitted with all of the usual trappings of an outstanding modern hammam – an indoor pool, ice well, sauna, whirlpool bath, steam rooms – the light-filled bath house stands out next to its peers’ dimly lit and moody spaces.
And, if you’re heading all the way out to a private island, why not make a day of it? The 150-minute Anantara Argan Oriental Secrets is a veritable journey that invariably leads to a serene state of mind and ultra-soft skin. An argan shell scrub is used to polish the body while laying back on a heated marble slab, followed by a rich ghassoul body wrap for nourishment.
The wonder-element argan – said to have healing and rejuvenating benefits – appears again in a body massage with shea butter before an indulgent facial cleanses with traditional alep soap, rose water and – yes – more of that fragrant argan. And if that’s still not enough of the Moroccan “liquid gold” for you, the Argan Oil Hair Treatment will leave your locks silky and shining after being quenched by the oil’s essential fatty acids and vitamins.
This wellness retreat in Riyadh’s luxe Al Faisaliah Hotel is a ladies-only paradise replete with femme touches like Swarovski crystal-studded walls and richly upholstered furnishings. The highlight, however, is a high-gloss hammam that’s covered in pearlescent mosaic tiles, a ceiling that literally twinkles with stars and a central bathing area with its own waterfall.
It’s not just the décor that’s exceptional, with hammam treatments focused on softening and indulging. Mentally check out of any day-to-day worries for two-hours during the Royal Hammam signature ritual. A rigorous body cleanse, foam massage and marine mud wrap are expertly applied in a peaceful private hammam room, leaving the skin fresh and glowing.
Afterwards, any lingering tensions are dealt with through a scalp massage and fragrant aromatherapy body massage. The spa is spread over four floors, so if you’re visiting for the hammam, it’s well worth exploring the lengthy menu of ESPA treatments available that includes facials to lift and firm and a stimulating Vichy waterfall massage.
At 4,300 sqm, this expansive spa is suitably sized for the cloud-scraping hotel it’s based in – the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai. And inside the caravanserai-inspired (a place of shelter and rest found on ancient trade routes) Saray Spa, two spacious hammams – one for men and another for women – beckon travellers looking for a touch of revitalisation.
Marble in sleek grey shades and tranquil blue mosaics set a more urban than traditional scene in the hushed, 21st-century environment where a menu of hammam rituals are at your disposal. For those looking to take advantage of the earth’s natural wonders, the Dead Sea Hammam treatment makes use of hand-crafted olive oil soap and salt from Jordan’s Dead Sea to exfoliate, followed by a body mask of nutrient-rich Dead Sea mud.
But if bling is more your thing, it’s got to be the Saray Golden Hammam, a luxe experience that includes a gold clay and myrtle body wrap, a facial mask of golden Arabian honey and a massage with 24-kt gold-infused and jasmine-scented oil that is said to stimulate cell regeneration. To continue the Middle Eastern-inspired pampering, more spa therapies making use of incense, tea soaks and even a serene Dead Sea flotation pool are available.
If it’s an authentic hammam experience you’re after – but with all the elegant trappings of a luxury resort – it’s difficult to go wrong with the Oriental Hammam at One&Only Royal Mirage. Inside a structure of gently lit domes, carved arches, prettily tiled walls and tinkling water features, it provides utter respite from the surrounding towering city, with a heated marble massage table, steam and private massage rooms, a jet shower, whirlpool and resting area.
Once guests make their way through the serene atmosphere – and one that gets gradually warmer and steamier to aid in relaxation – the oriental bathing tradition begins as masseurs meticulously exfoliate and cleanse the entire body.
Therapies here are created to treat a variety of needs – and time constraints – from a 25-minute Traditional Oriental Back Massage (a joy after a stiff flight abroad) to the lengthy Traditional Hammam Experience. Here, bathers enjoy warm steam sessions between a thorough cleansing with traditional black soap, a vigorous loofah body scrub and a gentle massage and stretching therapy.
