Hammam Les Bains Guerin
Rue de l'Ancienne Douanne
It's a traditional hammam of the many that are in Tunis. It's supposed to be the only "non-official" gay hammam in the whole of Tunisia.
The place was not particularly clean and discretion is a must.
One comes into the front room and pays to the attendant who gives you a key for a locker and asks you for you valuables. One is given (or one asks for) a couple of foulaks or wraps to cover and proceed to change clothes. One must cover with the cloth wrap figure taking off the underwear.
The first room is the cool one, with taps around and some raised surfaces to lay down. The second and third rooms -quite small- are surrounded by doored cubicles with doors where one traditionally proceeds with the cleansing of the "private" parts.
Massages, like in any other hammam, are offered and one must ask the attendants. It's a traditional rub/exfoliation and an extra bit of a rough massage.
No
Neighbourhood: Medina
As you stand in the Place de la Victoire facing the medina, there are two main streets that go deep into the medina in front of you. The one on the right is rue de la Kasbah and with fewer tourist shops. Almost at the beginning of it in the right there's a narrower street called Rue de l'Ancianne Douanne. If you walk a few meters into this street you'll see the hammam on your left handside. It has a small sign outside, quite unusual for hammams to have. (if the street you got on is full of shops for tourist and tourists, then it's rue Jemaa Zitouna which lead you to the gande mosque but it ain't the rue you want)
- Directions:As you stand in the Place de la Victoire facing the medina, there are two main streets that go deep into the medina in front of you. The one on the right is rue de la Kasbah and with fewer tourist shops. Almost at the beginning of it in the right there's a narrower street called Rue de l'Ancianne Douanne. If you walk a few meters into this street you'll see the hammam on your left handside. It has a small sign outside, quite unusual for hammams to have. (if the street you got on is full of shops for tourist and tourists, then it's rue Jemaa Zitouna which lead you to the gande mosque but it ain't the rue you want)
- Hours:Not sure about this. I believe the best hours are from the evening on. On Saturdays it seems to get busy in the afternoon, with many married man visiting.
- Cruising Info/ Tips:At first it seems like a regular hammam (with many more guys than the other hammams I've been to in Tunis). There's chatting and that. It's cruisier in the hotter rooms but very discreet. Once you agree with a guy, you move into one of the washing cublicles (one at a time to keep discreet) and use the foulak to screen any view from outside the cublicle. One can have as many foulaks as one wants since they are used to dry off as well.
- Nudity / Policy:In general Tunisian men don't parade nude in the hammams and they don't it here either. Even to undress and dress guys cover themselves with the foulak (cloth wrap) or towel. Guys cruise and when there's a connection they discretely move to one of the doored cubicles with the apparent intention of washing up. They use the wraps to block the view from the outside and get to do their business. Apparently, the place is very tolerant and provided no obvious behaviour is seen or heard, things are fine.
- Wheelchair Accessible:No / No.
- Warnings:No nudity is allowed as in any other hammam. No other pet peeves I am aware of.
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