One
of the oldest traditions of the Middle East is the art of hookah smoking. The hookah, also referred to as a narghile or narghila,
shisha or sheesha, water-pipe, and hubbly-bubbly, has long inspired
great discussions of politics, religion, and the daily happenings.
In social gatherings, the passing of the hose is remarkable- a
narghile is placed in the center of a group and smokers pass the
hose to the next in the circle, all the while exchanging words
and sharing ideas in a playful mode.
The popularity
of the hookah has sky-rocketed in recent years, mainly due to the social
nature of hookah smoking. In the United States, where everything has
become so fast paced that people rarely have time to socialize with
family or friends, it certainly contributes to the smoker's integration
in his or her social environment in a brotherly peaceful act of solidarity.
Clusters
of hookah smokers can now be seen at sidewalk cafes in Westwood, California,
in nightclubs in Chicago and Miami's South Beach, and at a new restaurant
at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas - which features a hookah smoking lounge
for weary gamblers. Many people prefer hookah smoke to cigarettes or
hand and glass pipes because of the cool, smooth flavorful taste of
the smoke.
The
shisha, also called tombac, gouza, moassel, shisha or sheesha,
is a special blend of fresh, dark leaves, fruit pulp, honey or
molasses, and glycerine. The shisha is available in a wide variety
of flavors including double apple, strawberry, melon, pineapple,
vanilla, pistachio, and rose. This blend contains only 0.5% nicotine
and no tar.
With
a vast collection of flavors to choose from and many other variables
to manipulate, hookah smoking is truly an art. Many seasoned smokers
enjoy adding ice, fruit juice, milk or wine to water in the glass
vase to change the taste, texture, or effect of the smoke.
The original
design for the hookah came from India or Persia, but it was rather primitively
made from a coconut shell. Its popularity spread to Iran and then the
rest of the Arab world. But it was in Turkey that the water pipe completed
its revolution and has hardly changed its style for the last few hundred
years.
These days
in the cafés of Cairo, puffing on their hookah water pipes, patrons
mutter about the unstoppable invasion of American fast food and trash
television. Few realize that the hookah itself is stealthily spreading
across the globe.
HOOKAH ETIQUETTE
The
etiquette of hookah smoking is very important in some cultures
and often times it is regarded as disrespectful to break away
from these traditions. Etiquette also helps to keep all hookah
smokers happy.
► Smoking a hookah pipe
is about patience and tolerance, so relax and enjoy it.
►There is no urgency or competitiveness when smoking a narghile, unlike the smoking sessions using other glass pipes
or water pipes. So smoke until you are pleased and then pass it
on to the next person.
► As
a courtesy, turn the hose connection of the metal stem toward
the next person as you are handing them the hose.
► Never
light cigarettes using the lit charcoal on top of the hose.
► Never
light a self-lighting charcoal on top of the hookah- the extra
smoke will overwhelm the shisha flavors.
► Do
not blow smoke in the face of another person.
► With
a multi-hose hookah, do not blow into the hookah hose to clear
the smoke while another person is smoking.
► Never
share your plastic mouthpiece with another person, as it does
not promote good hygiene.
► When
you are finished smoking hookah, wrap the hookah hose around the
metal stem.
