History of Sheesha Part II

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.

References:

http://www.thehookah.com/history/1.htm

http://www.hookahcompany.com/hookah_history.htm

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