If you're ever in Turkey, get a shave.

Notice the close shave on all of these guys!

I'm going to chalk this one up to good luck and curiousity.  I have walked past more barbers in Turkey in the last two weeks than I think I saw in the previous 20.  Turkish men are a fairly hairy bunch and can grow a beard like you would not believe.  So I decided to step into a shop this fine, sunny afternoon and see what all the hype is about.  Boy, am I glad that I did.

Our Turkish rug dealer in Goreme, promised me that if you spread the wealth, it will come back to you triple-fold in life, so I'm giving a new philosophy a try when it comes to money. Today proved it to me once again when I went for the 20 TRY ($10) for two hours option (versus 6 TRY for a haircut at "Mentors") Wow!  Who needs a tourist hamam, when you have a good old fashioned barber (or Berber on all of the signs in Turkey).  Makes Supercuts and the Gillette Quattro (with those ridiculously over-priced razors that never fit the exact handle you have) seem like just another one of those things in America that just isn't quite right.  

Here's what you get at a Turkish Barber for less than 10 bucks:

1.  Wash your hair - This one seems pretty standard.  I have even had this done before in the US, of course they charge you an extra 5 bucks for it there.  Also, its nice to lean forward into real sink in Turkey, rather than back into the big plastic washbasins that they use back home.

2.  Meticulous, hour long scissor cut - I thought the Vietnamese had an eye for a haircut.  Wow!  It feels like you're having a surgery, with each precise snip of the barber critical to the outcome.

3.  Warm brushing of shaving cream - I'm going to buy a nice brush and some good old fashioned shaving soap when I get home.  No more Gillette out of a can.  The warmer and fluffier, the better.

4.  Straight Razor Shave - If you've never done it, you're going to love it.   A bit nerve wracking at first, the pinching and prodding of your skin to get just the right angle, but the result is outstanding.

5.  Burning piece of oily cloth - Not sure what this part is about.  It felt very hot and smelled stange.

6.  Detail Trim - Out come the little scissors and the magnifying glass.  Away go the nose and ear hairs, the mono-brow and any other stray hairs that they may have missed with the straight razor.

7.  Face Wash - Begins with the hot towel. The hotter the better.  I mean really hot. Then facedown into the sink again for a vigorous scrubbing.  Then a barrage of lotion, talcum powder and cologne.

8.  Massage - At a barbershop, really?  These guys beat you up!  It hurts (but, oh so good!)

9.  Hairstyle - A couple scoops of hair gel or some spray and about 5 minutes of tinkering.

10.  Wash you sunglasses,  cup of tea in tulip glass, brief history of Ataturk's life, cigarette.


Do I sound like a metrosexual yet?  Well that's fine, because the Turk men line up for this procedure and it doesn't seem to have harmed their machismo in the least bit.  In fact, it may actually feed it!