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.
The floors are large stone slabs...rectangular in shape and seem ancient. There is a large rectangular pool, which is the bath. You smell the faint whips of wood smoke. You know that somewhere down below there are fires heating the waters for the bath. The women look at you oddly, as if you did not belong there, but none confront you. You ask a short woman where you might find a bathroom. She does not speak English, but senses your need and points to a small doorway off to the side of the bath. You enter a bathroom.... there are primitive squatting stalls, and use one of them to relieve yourself. You are sticky from all of the sweat from your morning journey and decide to strip down to your t shirt and under pant. You gingerly make your way back out to the main bath hall and slip into the bathwater. The air is steamy and there are a few high windows without glass that are 20 feet above the room at the sides and the light beautifully cuts into the steam.
You close your eyes and lay back in the 4-foot water that could easily be walked comfortably around, but simply lay your head back against the side of the bath and let the waters caress your skin. You feel a few ripples of water lap against your cheeks. You open your eyes up and are startled to find that a small group of women have you surrounded. You stand up quickly to meet them.... your breast clearly visible thru your now soaked t-shirt. They shout angrily, but you cannot understand them. They gesture at your state of dress and you are suddenly aware that you may have offended them.
One woman in her 30's leads the group of older 20 something women in verbally abusing you. The leader of the group pushes you in disgust. The others join in until you are in a pushing and shoving match with them. One holds you under the water and you struggle to breath. You are suddenly hauled to the surface gasping. Hands reach out to you and someone takes you by the hair and you are pulled and pushed to the edge of the pool. You are pushed up to the steps and are pushed face first into the stone floor, your knees on the steps in the water. You are frightened at what is happening.