The air was sweltering hot. The sun beats down on the dusty roads between the shops....the voices in the crowd seemed to drown out your thoughts. Everywhere that you turn you see a market that is alight with the waiving of arms and the gestures of commerce. You are a tourist here on your own. Beads of sweat form on your brow and form into drops of sweat that seem to join together into a few rivers. The river of sweat flows down your head, thru your hair and down your chest. You have been mindful to be respectful of the culture and have a white button shirt with a t-shirt underneath. Yet the oppressive heat has no mercy and you have unbuttoned a few of your top buttons. You feel the sweat run down your neck and between your breasts. Your t shirt is soaked with sweat and your face is wet with sweat and mixed with the dust from the market. You have traveling boots on and a plain brown dress.
The air is still and you wished that a gust of air would bring you some relief. You wipe the sweat from your forehead with your forearm. You a bit tired from walking all morning and now it is high into the afternoon...you want something to drink. You walk over to the front of a simple wooden stall.... a merchant selling cold bottled water and other drinks. A dark skinned man, worn with the life in the dust and heat greets you warmly in broken English. You are grateful that he speaks English and you ask to buy a bottle of water. He agrees to sell it to you easily...you are surprised that there was not the typical bantering and negotiations, but you are thankful for the water.
You find it quaint that the bottled water is in a glass bottle, but it is cool and refreshing. As you drink the water, your spirits lifted, you notice that the merchant stares at you a little longer than you preferred, as if his eyes were roaming up and down your body Without thinking, you pull the top of your shirt together a bit to hide your ample breasts from view. He flashes a brief smile and you think nothing more of it. You finish your bottle of water and give the empty bottle back to the man. You ask him where you might find a place to rest and to use a restroom. He gestures off handily towards a side alley that is across from his stall and tells you that there is a bathhouse there. You quickly thank the merchant and make your way to the alleyway. The alley here is wide, between two older buildings.... you have noticed, that they're all older buildings bunched together. Above the alley are large rugs that have been hoisted up to provide shade between the buildings. You are thankful for that. On either side of the alley are small stalls full of merchants. Trinkets, brass cookware's, bracelets, and textiles are for sale from people whom you cannot understand.
The alley is deep and soon the light from the sun baked street is but with a distant hole of light. The air is much cooler and you feel a little chill from the sweat on your body cooling down. You get to the end of the alley and there is an old building with Roman columns on either side...a few simple stone steps that rise up to a simple archway.... a wooden door is here, but seems out of place with the arch. You wonder if this really was a Roman bathhouse from ancient times. You push woo door. It is heavy but yields to your will. You peer in and there are mostly women about. You do not see any men, and you feel as you are in the right place.
You work your way to the center of the room...there are a few chairs.... Spartan furnishings.