Marrakesh: Quel Gommage!

We accomplished two very Moroccan things today: haggling and a hammam. The first took place mainly in the souks and I am now the proud owner of a pretty, stripy scarf in four of my favourite colours (teal, turquoise, purple and pink) and some colourful pottery bowls, one of which is for my mum.

After a pause for some mint tea and crêpes with honey, we made our way back to our riad for hammam o'clock. Somehow, I had thought a hammam would involve lying on a massage table in a steamy, Turkish bath-like room while being massaged with essential oils. The focus is really cleaning rather than relaxation, however, and the only lying down was on the hot, stone floor while being scrubbed within an inch of my life. 

Any tan I was building up has, I think, been removed now but I do feel very clean and it was another fun Moroccan experience. The scrubbing/soaping part is called gommage, hence the title of this post.

Tomorrow is our excursion into the Atlas Mountains, which means a very early start but it should be fun, especially as tonight's glorious sunset should mean lovely weather tomorrow.