Water Update...

Nope, still no water. That's the update.

The way these traditional tenements work, as far as we can tell, is that the building itself is managed by the city, and you either own or rent just your own flat. If something is wrong with the flat, you go to your letting agency or your own fix-it guys. If there's something wrong with the building, you find someone to fix it or you call the city.

Well, we tried calling the city, but they said that on the weekends on on holidays, as long as there's no flooding involved, it's not considered and emergency and there's nothing they can do until normal business hours. Though they did seem sympathetic to our non-bathing plight. Perhaps, in retrospect, we should have splashed some water under the door and told City Council that flat 5 was flooding, oh and do hurry up, I'd have for anything to be damaged. But alas, ethics won out, so we instead headed to the train station for showers.

I know what you're thinking: Ewwwwww plublic showers? Trust me, visions of grungy truck stop showers full of beefy truck drivers entered my mind, too. But they turned out rather nice. Big rooms with a sink and mirror and lots of storage room. Clean, if old. Better water pressure than we have here at the flat, anyway. So for 2 pounds, if you're a backpacker in for a stopover or a camper, or someone else not looking to spend the money on a hotel, you can stand under hot water for either 20 minutes or as long as you like, depending on who's around. They'll also lend you a clean towel for 1 more pound. Those ain't no US campground prices, but when you're 3 days dirty, it's worth it.

We also bought large 5-liter jigs of water and actually managed to make coffee (gasp!) and flush our toilet, twice! (I know, right!). I know I went with only about 1 shower a week when I lived in Morocco, but at least there I had running water, a washcloth and soap, so I could at least bath in cold water, if not fully shower. Plus, going to hammam was always relaxing and a blast... they really need to think about putting in Turkish baths in this city. I'm sure it would be a hit with the tourists...

Oh, and I have my mother's permission to strangle the guy downstairs when he finally returns.