Istanbul, Turkiye - August 2022
We were touring Turkey on-the-road and had returned to the chaotic and wonderful Istanbul before returning to Italy. That evening we had been hosted by my Turkish friend Alper, who lived near Taksim Square before moving to Italy.
Before saying goodbye, he had recommended that we stop at one of the oldest baths in the city, the Çemberlitaş Hamamı, designed by the architect Sinan in 1584. We had a few free hours before going to dinner and somewhat last minute decided to enter that semi-hidden little door in the area of the St. Sophia Mosque. They explained the various options to us but we were limited to a standard entrance, after which ... our paths parted because there is one environment for women and one for men. We simply said to each other "in a couple of hours outside," even though we had no watch. Having left our backpacks in the locker rooms (beautifully crafted wood-carved cabins) we had little reference as to when and how we would meet on the way out. Amen.
After being led into the lobby before the entrance to the restrooms, I realized that I was the only foreigner surrounded by Turkish women. I thought "what a story, a girls' outing" totally unexpected, and it made me smile. Mothers and daughters, friends, classmates ... there I was, intertwined with their unfamiliar lives, doing something I would have done with my mom or friend too, and I thought - for the umpteenth time in those two weeks - how similar our cultures are.
When I entered the "hot room," I was amazed by the beauty of the environment: so striking, a bit shadowy, decorated with marble slabs and a huge perforated dome from which rays of light enter. Women walked only with a cloth tied around their waists and a basin that they filled with water and poured it to cool people and marble seats. A huge block of warm marble in the center was the star of what happened next, which I will not include in the story because I would like it to be special even for those who would like to stop on their next trip and not spoil the surprise.
I was at peace with my senses and completely regenerated. I decided to dilate in the lobby, waiting for the showers, and it was here that I befriended Eçe, a super nice Turkish girl my age with whom I found myself talking about life, the future, and what we would like to change for our generation in our respective countries. We exchanged contact information and I walked out of there thinking "crazy, one of the best afternoons of these two weeks." I had only overrun the meeting time by half an hour.
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