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"   Photo: Courtesy of the O&amp;#039;Kari Hammam Spa in Paris  When you&amp;#039;re in Paris, whether for fashion week or for fun, you probably won&amp;#039;t leave without spotting the Eiffel Tower or eating a macaron, but there&amp;#039;s a new must-do activity garnering attention: visiting a hammam. Yes, the traditional steam bath you expect to find in Istanbul is finally making its way west. In Paris, however, hammams are a surprising mix of old and new, young and old, making them the cool new place to relax with your girlfriends. The `old&amp;#039; part might surprise you. This isn&amp;#039;t a luxury spa: your phone, the latest novel, and your clothes will be left outside while you indulge in the communal treatments. (You can wear a bikini, but after a trip to a hot steam room you might change your mind; the intensity of the heat forces you to completely decompress and disconnect.)  After the steam room, you&amp;#039;ll be cleansed and exfoliated with savon noir, a nourishing black soap that leaves limbs silky-smooth pre-massage. Afterward, you&amp;#039;re encouraged to stick around and absorb the cultural experience. Many hammams, like the Mosqu\u00E9e de Paris, are steeped in history and contain intricate mosaics\u2014a combination you&amp;#039;ll be hard pressed to find stateside. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/beauty/news/a8503/hammams-are-all-the-rage-in-paris-38485/>