One of the oldest and deep rooted traditions in Turkey is the Nargile (Hookah), with both men and women finding great pleasure in smoking the waterpipe. The nargile started a whole new culture which endured for many, many years. Even today the nargile gives enjoyment to a special breed of smokers. The original nargile came from India, but it was rather primitive as it was made out of coconut shell. Its popularity spread to Iran and then to the rest of the Arab world.

But it was in Turkey that the nargile completed its revolution, and did not change its style for the last few hundred years. The nargile became a very important part of the coffee shop culture, finding its popularity in Turkey around the time of Murat the IV'th, 1623-40. The joy that the smokers received from this very simple yet beautiful smoking apparatus was unbelievable. Rules were created even for lighting the pipe, and if a professional smoker saw anyone lighting it the incorrect way, the culprit would be told in no uncertain term " Do yourself and the sacred nargile a favor and put out the coals by blowing into it.

"The nargile itself consists of 4 pieces which are as follows: Agizlik (mouthpiece), Lüle (the top of the nargile), Marpuç (the tube) and the Gövde (the body of the pipe which is filled with water). All pieces of the pipe were produced by special craftsmen, who were named after the piece they produced. Even today, the areas where these craftsmen used to concentrate are called by these names, such as "Marpuççular."Lüles were generally produced in Tophane by Lule makers and the govde's (bottles) were manufactured in Beykoz. These govde's were a unique exaple of Turkish handcraft and were decorated with floral motifs. Some were made out of silver or crystal. The agizlik's (mouthpieces) were generally carved out of the top of quality amber, because people in those days believed that amber was not the because people in those days believed that amber was not the carrier of germs.

Not all tobaccos qualified for usage in the nargile, and only the dark tobacco imported from Iran found favor with the nargile user. This toabcco was washed several times before use as it was extremely strong. Only oak charcoal was used to be placed on the top of the tobacco. Some professional nargile smokers used certain fruit, like sour cherries or grapes in their govde just to enjoy the motion it created in the water. Other people enjoyed adding pomegranate juice or rose oil to their water for added flavor. The nargile smoker hated anyone lighting their cigarettes on their nargile fire because they felt it disturbed the rhythm of the burning charcoal.

The nargile was so popular and fashionable with the elite ladies of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, that it became the in thing to be photographed with a nargile. If you wanted to be the hostess with the mostest the nargile was a must for popular afternoon tea and intellectual gatherings. Unfortunately like most wonderful things from the past, the nargile suffered a decline with the availability of the cigarettes. But still today, one is able to find a special type of smoker that would only find their enjoyment from smoking the nargile.

The history of shisha goes back to the northern parts of India which was part of Persia (now known as Iran). Tobacco used to be smoked in coconuts. Later, wealthy Persians gave hookah the appearance they have today; they were designed to smoke opium, and hashish. The hookah made its way from the Persian Kingdom to other parts of the Persian empire which also included India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, much of Middle Asia and Arab parts of Northern Africa.

Today the Hookah is a smoking pipe used worldwide. The term “shisha" is primarily used for water pipes in Egypt and the Arabic countries of the Persian Gulf (such as Bahrain, UAE, and Saudi Arabia). It is referred to as Argileh in Arab Mediterranean countries.

The practice of adding strong flavors is a relatively recent one but has grown in popularity in the past 20 years.

Some notable brands of flavored tobacco from include: Al Amir, Hookafina, Abajûra, El-bâshâ , El-'Esfahâny, En-nakhla, Ibyâry, Shîh 'el-beled, Zeglûl. All of these are Egyptian except for Shîh 'el-beled which is Tunisian.

This is in addition to Bahraini molasses such as Bahraini Apple (done by local firms, and adopted by huge international Shisha molasses firms such as Al Nakhla as well), and Bahraini Zeglul, and UAE Based Al Fakher molasses, which is often softer in taste than the Egyptian molasses. Today there are also numerous varieties produced in the West with more coming to market each year.

Besides being sold in little packets as is rolling tobacco, shisha is also sold in cardboard boxes and plastic jars. Packaging is generally illustrated with bright floral motifs, fruit, lush gardens and romantic images of sultans or pashas.

The relative proportions of tobacco, treacle, fruits and spices, on average, 30%, 50% and 20% respectively. The substance is generally valid for two years; boxes usually indicate the production date. Health warnings about lung cancer risks and cardiovascular disease appear on these products as they do tobacco products elsewhere in the world.

Some manufacturers produce tobacco-free flavored herbal blends and market these as shisha as well.

A hookah (Arabic: شيشة; Hindustani: हुक़्क़ा / حقّہ; is a multi-stemmed, often glass-based, water pipe device for smoking; originating in India, it gained fame under the Ottoman Turks. A hookah operates by water-filtration and indirect heat. It can be used for smoking many substances, such as herbal fruits and tobacco. Depending on locality, hookahs are known as other names, such as a shisha/sheesha, water pipe, nargeela/nargile/narghile/nargileh/narguilé, argeela/arghileh/arguilé, okka, kalyan, gewat suckre, or ghelyoon/ghalyan. Many of these names are of Arab, Indian, Turkish, Uzbek, or Persian origin. Narghile (نارگيله) is from the Persian word nārgil (نارگیل) or "coconut", and in Sanskrit nārikela (नारीकेल) and it was made out of coconut shells.

[1] Shisha (شيشة) is from the Persian word shishe (شیشه, literally translated as glass and not bottle). Hashish (حشيش) is an Arabic word for grass, which may have been another way of saying tobacco. Another source states, "In early Arabic texts, the term hashish referred not only to cannabis resin but also to the dried leaves or flower heads and sweetmeats made with them".

[2] Hookah itself may stem from Arabic uqqa, meaning small box, pot, or jar. Both names refer to the original methods of constructing the smoke/water chamber part of the hookah.

Narghile is the name most commonly used in Armenia, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Israel, Bulgaria and Romania, though the initial "n" is often dropped in Arabic. Shisha is more commonly seen in Egypt, Bahrain, Morocco, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and Somalia. In Iran it is called ghalyoun or ghalyan (قليان) and in Pakistan and India it is referred to as huqqa. The archaic form of this latter name, hookah is most commonly used in English for historical reasons, as it was in India that large numbers of English-speakers first sampled the effects of the water pipe.

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