Dar El Maghreb: Authentic Moroccan Hammam in Mohandiseen

Published On: 17/04/2012

There is absolutely nothing like the feeling of being freshly showered; clean and renewed, catching whiffs of shampoo and soap, even the occasional bout of body lotion that smells like being on a beach; sipping on coconut juice. Yes, as you can tell the yearning for summer is undeniable, and that’s why going for a Moroccan bath is all the more tempting.

Although there are several establishments that offer this treatment, few carry out the typical Moroccan body scrubbing method sufficiently. Dar El Maghreb, just behind El Batal Ahmed Street in Mohandiseen, offers an authentic experience – in all its delights and rawness.

Located on the ground floor of an ordinary residential building, the heavy, iron-laden door is your hour gateway to Morocco. The place itself is humble to say the least. Here you won’t find glossy counter tops and sleek furnishing but rather wrought iron décor and a loud television in the background. The ladies that work there roam around busy with something to do; conversing in a dialect not easily understood by an Egyptian; seeming much like a bunch of sisters. Ultimately, you feel a bit like an intruder. But once you pass through that door, there’s no turning back because for the next hour; you are their job.

You’re given a robe and pair of slippers and asked to take off all your clothes, although wearing a bikini bottom is always possible. It’s suggested that you take along your shampoo, conditioner and body wash because at some point you will need them. So after separating from all your belongings, into a wet room you go.

Each enclosure is no more than a metre by two metres and clad entirely in granite; there is the surface where one lays taking up one side, and there's a shower on the other.

The first thing that happens is you’re given a quick water down and lathered in a black soap made of olive oil. Then for as long as one can bear, you are left in steam. After these few minutes, the true experience begins. Laying on your back, front and each side, using a coarse glove, your appointed lady will literally remove the layer of dead skin that most of us live our lives oblivious to. If your lady is good she’ll even remember to scrub behind your ears!

After rinsing you off and washing down the makeshift bed, it’s time to have your hair washed. A quick body massage follows as she simultaneously washes you clean with body wash.

The deluxe treatment offers a full body mask after the scrub. You can choose from several flavours such as coconut, berry or a herbal one. After applying the mask, once again you are left in the steam for a few more minutes. It’s nice to take a cold shower before leaving the room because otherwise you can feel very hot for a while afterwards.

After retrieving your belongings from a locker that’s conveniently placed outside the wet room, you are ready to go back outside and to a semi-private room with lounge beds. They aren’t the snazziest of chairs but the low lit, deep-coloured room is a treat after being (somewhat) manhandled for the passed hour. They serve you sweet tea and you are left to daze for as long as you wish.

The basic Moroccan Hammam is in the range of 120LE and 150LE; we are not sure what it depends on though. The chosen deluxe treatment, with mask included, is 180LE to 220LE however the menu says it comes with a mud wrap; which was not part of the procedure.

They also offer 60-minute massages (180LE) and the usual beauty treatments like waxing (200LE), manicure and pedicure (50LE), and hairstyling (150LE-250LE). However, their recommendable item is the hammam.

Dar El Maghreb isn’t trying to impress anyone and it sticks to basics. So if you’re looking for a proper, thorough and genuine Morrocan hammam experience, at a lower price than anywhere else in Cairo, then this is the place to go.

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La Coupe: Fast, Efficient Pedicures in Dokki

28, Abdel Moneim Riad Street, Dokki

In a city like Cairo, there is no excuse for not getting a pedicure every once in a while. We are blessed with awesome weather, enabling us to walk around in flip-flops or open-toed sandals throughout most of the year. However, finding a good pedicure can be difficult. La Coupe is a hair salon that offers a pleasant pedicure experience. The salon is located on the border of Mohandiseen and Dokki in close proximity to the Shooting Club next to Steak Out. The venue offers various hair and body treatments. The hair salon section is quite big and has up to five hairstylists stationed there at all times; so you won’t have to wait very long for your turn in getting your hair fixed. All products used in the hair salon are of the international brand Kerastase. The second part of the salon is where you can get pedicures, manicures and other body treatments. Three comfortable seats are set in front of foot tubs, which are carved out into the marble floor. The pedicure treatment (50LE) follows the typical routine of soaking your feet in the tub for a while, then scrubbing off dead skin with a callus scraper, followed by a pumice stone, after which the toenails are cut, shaped, filed and oiled. After your feet are rubbed down with thick lotion, you get to choose from around 40 different polish colours. First off, a base coat is applied to your nails, then two layers of nail polish, followed by a top coat for that shimmery look. Suffice it to say, the pedicure treatment is meticulous and will have your nail colour lasting a full week without chipping. While the salon’s general hygiene seems fine, the pumice stone used on this reviewer was dipped in water for a only short while before used on another customer, which had us seriously questioning just how clean the rest of their utensils are. We would recommend that you bring along your own pedicure set if you’re the finicky type. Other services include a manicure for 40LE and hairstyling for 50LE, with haircut and styling setting you back around 100LE. Without compromising any efficiency or quality, the pedicurist works very swiftly and will have your pedicure finished in twenty minutes. All in all, La Coupe is a decent choice for a quick stop when you’re in desperate need of a pedicure and don’t have much time to spare.

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Sky Med Spa: Unconventional Spa in Dokki

36 Nady El Seid St., Dokki

Situated above McDonalds on the busy Nady El Seid Street in Dokki, Sky Med Spa claims to be the first and 'most luxurious' medical spa in Egypt. They boast state of the art technology along with a range of non-surgical treatments including collagen remodelling, shaping and slimming body wraps, therapeutic massages, rejuvenating facials and nail treatments.

After taking directions from the friendly doorman, we headed up to the third floor and patiently waited for the door to be opened. The spa is a spacious apartment, complete with wooden floors, chandeliers and shaggy rugs taking up the entire floor of the building. The treatment rooms were old fashioned and a little shabby, but clean. We arrived without an appointment and requested a facial (250LE) and a manicure (40LE). The male receptionist advised a deep cleansing facial, using Oxygen products to unclog our pores. We were then asked to pay upfront, which seemed a little unusual.

After twenty long minutes of waiting, listening to the jazz playing over the speakers, we were informed that the nail technician was not there and had taken all the nail polishes with her. We stuck with our decision and settled for a manicure without polish – effectively just a tidy up.

Of all the girls shuffling from room to room in their flip flops and pyjama type tracksuits, we didn't expect that we'd be allocated their resident transvestite; seriously. Of course we didn't mind that he was dressed as a woman, or that he had hands three times the size of ours – even the facial stubble didn't phase us – however, we did mind that he/she clearly didn't have much experience in manicuring.

He proceeded to gingerly, nervously and slowly cut away our nails and cuticles, before roughly scrubbing the backs of our hands with a nail brush. Our nails were then filed down to slightly different shapes and lengths; we could have done a better job ourselves.

The male receptionist then took over for the facial, fiddling with an old school machine before using electronic, rotating pads to massage in the exfoliator. This was followed by a five minute steam to open our pores and two minutes of prodding and squeezing to rid our T-zone of any blackheads. A soothing mask was applied whilst we were zapped with radio waves to help our skin absorb it. We're not sure how thorough or effective the treatment was – the whole thing seemed rushed and carelessly executed rather than pleasant and relaxing.

We hope that, if we had booked an appointment in advance, our experience of Sky Med Spa might have been entirely different. As it stands, Sky Med Spa does provide a good range of treatments, but its far from competing with high-end salons and spas in the city..

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Dar El Maghreb: Authentic Moroccan Hammam in Mohandiseen

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