Submitted by Marissa Kissinger on the 2017 summer session program in Granada, Spain sponsored by the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures…
This past week has been such a sad week as my time here in Granada is coming to a close. I feel like I have only been in this beautiful city for a few days. To truly relax and take a step back, I visited an Arab bath. Granada has a lot of Arab influences because for such a long time southern Spain was occupied by Muslims. This means that the city of Granada has a few gems that were saved when the Muslims were expelled. One of these gems is the Hamman Arab Bath. This bath house lets you experience a “public” bath house like those decades ago. It has a cave like setting with different pools of water with various temperatures. The whole place is quiet and lit solely by candles. There are tea stations sporadically around and extremely relaxing massages. This place truly aimed to show you traditional relaxation practices of the Arab people. I spent my time reminiscing on my time in Granada and putting my mind to rest. The atmosphere was something I have never experienced before in the United States. The serenity I experienced here made me feel a little sad that so many Arab monuments were ruined when they were expelled from Granada. However, I am glad I found a hidden gem in this huge city to experience just a little bit of Muslim culture.