For
hundreds of years, Middle Eastern people have flocked
to this exotic water pipe — more popularly known as the
hooka — to smoke fruit-flavored
tobacco, talk and watch the world pass by.
This
deep-rooted cultural practice of smoking shisha has now
become an almost integral part of the Arabs — social
life and their culture and is rapidly growing in popularity
all over the world.
It began
hundreds of years before the invasion of the big American
cigarette companies and is one of the most common and interesting
lifestyles of the Arab world. Some say it originated in
Turkey over 500 years ago, some say it originated in Syria,
others claim it originated in India.
Undoubtedly,
the hooka is among the most instantly recognizable symbols
of popular Arab culture and the ever-growing demand from
locals, residents and tourists bears ample testimony to
the modern-day appeal of the ancient water pipe.
It is
now a thriving — and, apparently, extremely lucrative
— hooka culture. The number of hooka outlets mushrooming
in the Arab world is, indeed, remarkable and, is a clear
indication of the profitability of such outlets.
Shisha
is tobacco mixed with molasses and fruit flavors and is
smoked in a hookah. It is very light and flavorful with
a wonderful fruity aroma. Interestingly, it is smoked for
the flavor and not for any kind of effect. Though the most
popular flavor is apple, others include strawberry, pineapple,
apricot, grape, rose, mint, and even cappuccino! A hookah
consists of a hollow glass (sometimes clay or brass) base
which is filled with water, a vertical pipe topped with
a clay bowl for shisha and coals, and a usually colorful
hose.
When
one sucks on the hose, the smoke is drawn down the pipe
and through the water, which cools and filters it. This
also produces a peaceful bubbling sound. This sound is as
delightful now as the prospect of blowing bubbles in a glass
of milk was to most of us when we were young.
Many
people prefer hooka smoking to cigarettes and cigars because
of the smooth, flavorful and cool taste of the smoke. The
cooled smoke is pleasant because it doesn't tickle the throat
at all.
Actually,
there are so many different names for this unique smoking
device, which is essentially a tall, ornately-decorated
and carefully-prepared water pipe. Egyptians call it shisha;
Lebanese refer to it as nargila;
and in English, it is hooka. Tourists sometimes refer to
it as "hubbly bubbly."
Generally, they consider it as relaxation in an Oriental
ambience.
Indeed,
smoking the hooka is a highly convivial pastime. It is simply
very pleasant to relax over a pipe after dinner or after
work. Smoking shisha can last two hours or more and is a
very peaceful, social occasion generally filled with good
conversation with friends.
It is
generally not just smoking, it's a mini "happening."
More and more are discovering the pleasures of this age-old
Oriental smoking ritual. Obviously, the society's perception
of shisha smoking has been completely redefined. Shisha
smoking, for example, is no longer an exclusively male
pastime.
Women
enjoy the water pipe just as much as men do. The sight of
an Arab woman puffing away at a shisha no longer raises
any eyebrows. Many women in the Arab world, however, still
tend to smoke at home rather than in public.
The
water pipe is not popular only
amongst young people. The truth is, shisha is now appreciated
by guests of all ages and from all social groupings. That
includes lawyers and doctors. Men and women of the upper
classes in the Arab world have been entertaining guests
with shisha pipes for centuries. And it's wrong to think
of pipe-smoking as an exclusively male domain.
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