Clusters of Turks sit cross-legged on richly woven carpets. Young men still in their late teens, idle and relaxed in these last days of summer, they glance up from teacups when I enter, their dark eyes like shadows, watching as I cross the room and stand at the desk and wait for the man behind it to give me a towel.
A barrel-chested, shirtless man, he smiles and asks, American? I nod and say, From Florida. His eyes light up, and he spreads his arms wide like he’s a genie here to grant my wishes. Flor-i-da, he says, stretching the word out like it’s something holy, a place you go when you die. I nod, we laugh, he places a towel on the marble counter. He cocks his head and motions toward an opaque glass door.
Just before I knock, the door opens, and an older gentleman, skin the color of teakwood, welcomes me inside. These baths are over twelve hundred years old, swirling black and white tile surrounding a steaming pool, aqua walls inlaid with mosaics of unclad gods and men. The elder glides his arm to the right. Hot, he says, then sweeps to the left: more hot. Young men line the walls, relaxing beneath thermal falls, their black hair plastered wet. Sunlight filters through the glass-domed ceiling. You come, the old man says, and I follow.
Wire baskets hold personal belongings, stacked from floor to ceiling. The man takes my towel and hands me a white cloth, which I unfurl and puzzle over. A small apron with strings, I hold it up to my waist. The man smiles and shakes his head. I do not understand. No, I hear, a strong German accent. Like so. Behind me stands a strapping, uncut Bavarian, his strings tied around his hips, the apron flap covering his rear. For sitting, he tells me. And peek-a-boo. He turns and lifts his apron, revealing a tanned, tight, muscular ass. I see you in steam room? He trots out into the light.
When I turn back, the old man's gone. Oh well; when in Rome... I slip off my loafers and tee shirt. Unbuckling my belt, I hear a sort of hissing. Behind me, leaning against a wall, a thin Turkish teenager, naked as the day he was born, pulls on his ropy, semi-hard cock. With a sparse triangle of feathers, smooth pink nut-sack, and swollen nipples, he smiles with teeth like ivory, a model of perfection. Sliding off my jeans, I turn to face him, my own cock fattening up nicely, growing with desire. Show me. I open my arms, inviting him closer.
A smell like hair pomade, sweet and bitter, fills my nostrils. A gentle hand cups my ass. Another young man, early twenties, silent as a cat, has sidled up next to me. With heavy eyelids he stares at my mouth, and when I open it to speak he places a finger to my lips, shushes me, points to his eyes, then points to the boy in front of us, indicating I should watch.
Using both hands, the teen continues to pull on his cock, from base to tapered tip, stretching it like a length of brown circus taffy. And though it doesn’t stand at full attention, it seems to transform into something almost serpentine, alive. He turns his back to us, spits in his palm, then slowly inserts the spittle deep inside his smooth, hairless ass. Like a dancer at the barre he touches the wall for support, then allows his feet to slide apart, wider, spreading, sinking down toward the floor in a perfect split. Not quite what I expected, but I nod solemnly, trying to look impressed. The man beside me smiles; he indicates more to come.