Category: Turks and Good Things

Hookah Lounge Etiquette and Smoking Technique

Hookah Lounge Etiquette and smoking tips

By being aware of this, you may have confidence to travel anywhere in the world and use a hookah.

Be aware that not all the places listed in the directory are hookah lounges exclusively. Some are coffee shops or restaurants with Middle Eastern cuisine and flair, and supply shishas as an aside. They cater to Middle Eastern clientele and are as intimate as a livingroom with a group of regulars, and YOU, as a newcomer, are expected to be on your best behavior. Respect the culture. You know a place is good when you see Middle Eastern people present, don’t drive them away. Many establishments rely on regulars and have close ties with them. (“We used to go there, but it has been overrun by disrespectful kids. They’ve ruined it for the rest of us.”) As a side note, don’t let your thoughts of current world events be translated to other customers. It is best to avoid this topic. We all wish the best for the future.

In general, many hookah lounges are very classy and plush places with unique decor.
Keep with the vibe, dress nicely, be respectful and don’t be a loudmouth.

If you show up in shorts, flip-flops, an ICP shirt and a backwards baseball cap, and you’re a loudmouth, everyone will think you’re an A-H and you’ve ruined the vibe for everyone. You’ll be like a cockroach in the rice bowl. On the other hand, some places cater to you rowdy idiotic slobs and puke-reeking fashion disasters as long as you have money to blow. Do yourself and the industry a favor, keep up the high standards. Since this phenomenon is still rather young, we still have a chance at shaping its destiny. The media is already trying to pigeon-hole the hookah lounge clientele, so let’s perpetuate the favorable reputation and do it RIGHT.

Hookah Lounge owners: I suggest “DRESS CODE ENFORCED” and don’t play Beastie Boys on the stereo.

Some small restaurants may be eventually driven to post “Shisha with meals only.” OBLIGE THEM. The experience will be vastly improved!
Fancy Hookah Bar
It seems that everyone’s missing the point already, thinking that just merely showing up to one of these places makes you cool. Well WAKE UP! Don’t be a kook! Be a pro and dress like one after we help to show you how to ACT like one. Part of what makes shisha smoking so cool is the mastery of the people involved. Don’t dilute the coolness factor.

Hookahs belong on the floor and not on the table, because it is an object of service. Imagine the notion of “putting someone on a pedestal.” This is along the same idea, and the shisha is an item of much lower rank, if you will. Traditional establishments will still adhere to this rule, while some hookah lounges are placing the hookah on the table for everyone to enjoy. Not very authentic, but it does celebrate the hookah. Smaller hookahs on a table are more convenient, as you can imagine, and sometimes this is the only option.

Now some hard rules and tips to stop kooks in their tracks.

Never light your cigarette from the hookah coals, it’s considered VERY bad manners.

Use the hookah hose with your RIGHT hand. The left hand is considered unclean in many countries.

When sharing a hookah and you’re done smoking for the moment, place the hose down on the table for the next person to pick up. Don’t pass it directly. A variant of this is if you must pass, use the RIGHT HAND with the tip facing towards you, not the recipient. Turn the hookah toward the recipient or have the hookah placed in a neutral position to prevent tipping. Sometimes the hose is so long that this isn’t an issue, or a rotating hookah may be used.

Use the tongs to occasionally tap the coals in the tray on the stem to remove ash and keep the coals hot. Replace the coals to a different position on the bowl.

And now for the obvious: On multiple hose hookahs, those not smoking for the moment should plug their mouthpieces with a finger so that the person smoking doesn’t suck air.

Many people suggest using punctured foil on top of your bowl underneath the coals. DID YOU KNOW THAT EXCESSIVE ALUMINUM IN THE BODY CAUSES ALZHEIMER’S? Smoking from household aluminum isn’t good for you anyway, there are also bonding agents that give off fumes. Don’t be afraid with OCCASIONAL smoking, but don’t make it a habit; don’t use household foil on your personal hookah. There is foil available made especially for hookahs, or use a screen meant for hookahs. The latter is recommended, but your bowl will last much longer with foils if the holes are done correctly.

With the tongs, move the coals around the screen occasionally to allow for even burning of the tobacco throughout the session. The center of the bowl should be the ending place the coals should be concentrated, but this doesn’t matter much.

There is no urgency or competitiveness when smoking a shisha unlike sharing smaller pipes. The bowls last a long time, and this is a leisurely activity. Enjoy it. It is recommended that one shisha be shared among no more than three people. Some lounges enforce the two people per shisha rule.

Don’t take too many photos in a hookah lounge, it disturbs the atmosphere. (“Hookah, yaaayy, wooo!!”) In fact, you might get some dirty looks depending on where you are.

Don’t cause or contribute to a commotion. Shisha smoking is a quieter activity but still may be social without being disturbing to others.

Don’t smoke cigarettes unless ashtrays are provided. Take the hint – If there are no ashtrays, then cig smoking is probably not allowed, but ASK FIRST before lighting up. They might have ashtrays behind the counter for you OR they might say no cigarette smoking is allowed in certain areas. Respect people’s wishes and don’t argue. Chances are that in the Middle East, if you don’t see others smoking cigarettes then the activity is frowned upon.

DO NOT use the coal tray for your cigarette ashes. That’s a TOTAL kook move.

With respect comes respect, and this process is initiated with the successful mastery of the shisha and social manners in the presence of other masters. When you have mastered the shisha and know fully and demonstrate the social manners associated with it, you may have confidence in enjoying the shisha anywhere in the world and in teaching others so that the proper etiquette is perpetuated.

Puffin At The Ole’ Hubble-Bubble

Puffin at the Old Hubble Bubble

Source : Skylife

The hubble bubble was introduced to Turkey from either India or Persia and provided centuries of enjoyment for Turkish smokers. In Ottoman Istanbul the water pipe or hubble-bubble pipe became an objet d’art, with bottles of crystal, coloured glass or even silver, finials in the form of silver flowers or fruits, gilded pipe bowls, and amber mouthpieces. They were a decorative appurtenance of coffee houses and wealthy houses and wealthy houses alike. Until relatively recently all coffee houses in Istanbul had a special corner reserved for hubble bubble smokers, and if by accident you might sit among them the disgruntled glances soon obliged you to move elsewhere. hubble bubble smokers used to be the earliest and most coveted customers at Istanbul’s coffee houses.

At the first light, rubbing their eyes, they would sit upon the couch or sedir before the newly lit stove waiting for their morning hubble bubble before setting out to work. Like everything else from the past the hubble bubble has been largely forgotten. However, although it is no longer the national pastime it once was, it is kept alive in a few coffee houses in such districts of Istanbul as Beyazit, Aksaray, Topkapi, Unkapani, Kasimpasa, Besiktas and Kadik??y by old and new adherents of this traditional pipe. An advanced grade hubble bubble smoker may spend up to three hours over the ceremony. Most such smokers have their own personal hubble bubble at the coffee house. This is kept away from sight and used by no one else even if the smoker does not come for months.

Still there are some who carry their own silver mouthpiece with them in their waistcoat pocket just in case someone else might have used it meanwhile and defiled the amber mouthpiece with their lips. The dedicated smoker brings his own piece of the finest t??mbeki tobacco for the one trusted waiter who knows exactly how much to dampen and place on the l?ºle, and how large a piece of live coal to set on top of it. The most famous coffee houses have today disappeared, but their memory remains, such as Pirin?ßci in Kuledibi, G?ºll?º Agop Kiraathanesi in Gedikpasa, Valide Kiraathanesi in Emin??n?º, Ligor Kiraathanesi under the Galata Bridge and Erzurum ?áayevi. Emirgan ?áinaralti still survives but the hubble bubble ceremonial has gone, along with its peaceful bubbling sound and wavering smoke.

One place where hubble bubble smoking has not been forgotten is Erenler hubble bubble situated in ?áorlulu Ali Pasa Medrese at ?áemberlitas between the Blue Mosque and the Covered Bazaar. Of the 150 or so regular smokers, 30 have their own hubble bubble. At all times of day curious tourists can be seen here watching the smokers puff away at their pipes. A word of advice if you happen to be in such an establishment: Lighting your cigarette from the bowl of someone’s hubble bubble is an unforgiveable sin, and will certainly infuriate the smoker. Erenler hubble bubble’s proprietor S?ºkr?º Usta of Sivas, who has been in this business for 20 years, is optimistic about the future of hubble bubble smoking. He says that many new customers try out the hubble bubble every day, and that some become regulars. He even serves that breed of early morning smokers which I had assumed to be extinct.

Hubble-Bubble, Narghile and More More More

Hubble-bubble (Nargile)

The Hubble-Bubble Narghile Pipe
 

Hubble-bubble, or Nargile is one of the oldest traditions in Turkey and has enthusiasts of all ages and sexes who find great pleasure in smoking it. The original nargile came from India, but it was rather primitive as it was made out of coconut shells. The basic idea was to remove the inside of the coconut and dip a straw in its shell. Its popularity spread to Iran, where the word “nargil” means coconut in Persian, and to the Arab world. However the hubble-bubble completed its evolution in Anatolia when brought in the 17th century and having become a very important part of coffee house culture, has not changed its style for the last few hundred years. Even today the hubble-bubble continues to give a special breed of smokers enjoyment.Turkish craftsmen engraved beautiful designs such as clear, white or colorful bottles that look as if they were made out of crystallized ice, or more common designs like fruit or flowers.

Rules were created even for lighting the hubble-bubble and, as one of the main pastimes of the male population in the society, the preparation of the hubble-bubble was ceremonious and deliberately prolonged, especially for the eldest male in a family. In order to beautify old Turkish houses, a special corner was put aside where the hubble-bubble was placed.

A hubble-bubble consists four parts: Body, bowl, tube and mouthpiece.

Body-G??vde: This is the part where the bowl is placed and is filled with water in order to cleanse filth created by the burning tobacco and also to absorb the nicotine. Some professional hubble-bubble smokers used certain fruit like sour cherries or grapes in their g??vde just to enjoy the motion it created in the water. The body is usually made of glass; however more elegant ones are made out of porcelain, silver or crystal and embellished with gold, silver or coral. These bodies formed a unique type of Turkish handcraft and were mostly decorated with floral motifs.

Bowl-L?ºle: A specially-formed plug of tobacco (t??mbeki) is put in the bowl, which is pierced and covered with a conical cap so that that the flame may be sheltered on windy days. T??mbeki is a special tobacco; not all tobaccos qualified for usage in the hubble-bubble, as only special dark, strong, and very high-nicotine tobaccos found favor with hubble-bubble enthusiasts. This tobacco was washed several times before use, as it was extremely strong. Only oak charcoal was to be placed on the top of the tobacco.

Tube-Marpu?ß: A long flexible hose attached to the pipe and air in the body part, is conveyed by means of this tube. A marpu?ß might be embellished with embroidery, beadwork or other woven handicraft art. There may be more than one tube so that two or more people can smoke together while chatting. Atop the pipe is a small metal tray to catch cinders.

Mouthpiece-Aƒüƒ±zlƒ±k: At the end of the tube (marpu?ß) there is a mouthpiece to inhale the smoke. Don’t puff as strongly as on a cigarette. Rather, suck the smoke gently and don’t inhale deeply. The sucking should generate pleasant bubbling sounds in the water, which is part of the fun.

All pieces of the hubble-bubble were produced by special craftsmen, whose jobs were named after the pieces they produced. The areas where these craftsmen used to concentrate are called by these names ‚Äì even today there is an area called Marpu?ß?ßular in Covered Bazaar.

Now Turks don’t have as much time to sit and smoke hubble-bubble as their fathers and grandfathers did years ago. Unfortunately, like most wonderful things from the past, the hubble-bubble suffered a decline with the availability of the cigarettes, which forever changed the way Turks use tobacco. However, recently hubble-bubbles have caught the interest of the new generation in Turkey in search of their history and traditions, and at coffee houses and recently the swiftly-spreading nargile caf?©s you can see many people enjoying this old pleasure.

In addition to young Turks, tourists who visit Turkey are attracted to the hubble-bubble and often buy them as souvenirs to take home to their family and friends. The new fashion is hubble-bubble flavored with strawberries, apples or cappuccino. It takes about an hour to smoke a pipe full of fruit tobacco, two hours for the stronger stuff. The smoke is noticeably cooler than cigarette smoke, and lightly intoxicating.

Old Turkish hubble-bubble lovers state that smoking a hubble-bubble is nothing like smoking a cigarette and also add “Cigarettes are for nervous people, competitive people and people on the run. When you smoke a hubble-bubble, you have time to think. It teaches you patience and tolerance, and gives you an appreciation of good company. Hubble-bubble smokers have a much more balanced approach to life than cigarette smokers.” As long as there is a need for company and friendship, as long as people want to stop and think, there will be nargile caf?©s” is one of the most popular sayings nowadays.

(thank you to http://www.mymerhaba.com/ for much of this information)