Moroccans visit their local hammam, or public bathhouse, once a week. The hammam, an intricate maze of beautifully tiled chambers, are filled with hot and cold pools, and a steamy heat from the well-kept fire below the baths—the heat and smoke travels through a channel in built into the walls, and then exits from a chimney. What once was done out of necessity, for a lack of indoor plumbing in the home, has now become an important tradition of Moroccan life. Separated by gender, the hammams are a sacred space to bring the children, meet friends, and socialize while scrubbing away a weeks worth of dead skin. 

There are many important steps and customs to fulfill in the traditional process of cleansing in the hammam, many of which can be summed up in: soak, scrub, knead, and pour. The last one, the ceremonious dumping of cold water over your head, is essential!