DISPATCH XXXVI

I followed her through a narrow archway and down steep stone steps into the riad’s bowels. We were way down there. Inside I found three dark rooms, one with a tub (too small for a human), the other two with large tables — one stone and one wooden. The whole scene looked like a great place to hold the Spanish Inquisition. The rooms were pristine, but I wondered if Riad Kalaa had always been a Hammam. It was built in the 1600s. Maybe it used to serve as a medieval dungeon. Rayna chuckled and said she didn’t know, but explained that the Hammam ritual was routine for Moroccan muslims. Then she shot me a look as if to say, “Really, you’re gonna like it.” I checked for chains and manacles anyway.