Sheesha
Fajka wodna sheesha (shisha, szisza,
nargilleh), pochodząca z bliskiego wschodu, cieszy
się popularnością wśród Arabów na spędzenie wolnego czasu.
Prawie każdy Arab posiada nargilleh w domu, aby paląc ją
delektować się wspaniałymi smakami, a przede wszystkim
podzielić się chwilą z rodziną jak i przyjaciółmi.
Niektóre wyróżniają się pięknymi ozdobami, służą nie tylko
do palenia, ale również do dekoracji wnętrza własnego
domu, które każdy gospodarz godnie pokazuje.
Można także spotkać ludzi siedzących godzinami przy nargili, popijających herbatę lub kawę. Jest to bardzo przyjemne i relaksujące doświadczenie, które również pozwala nawiązać stosunki towarzyskie. Jeżeli ktoś państwu proponuje nargilleh, możecie być państwo pewni, że ma w stosunku do was przyjacielskie zamiary.
Tradycyjnie używa się do palenia bardzo lekkiego tytoniu zmieszanego z aromatycznymi owocami - jabłko, czereśnia etc., które są przez długi czas przechowywane razem z tytoniem w chłodzonych glinianych dzbankach, aby osiągnęły niezapomniany smak.
Water pipe (hookah)
some call it sheesha (egyptians), others nargileh
(lebanese). This ancient water pipe has been used for
centuries to smoke away the day's stress, while relaxing
with friends and relatives. the original water pipe 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 water pipe completed its revolution, and did not
change its style for the last few hundred years.
Unfortunately like most wonderful thing from the past,
the water pipe suffered a decline with the availability
of the cigarettes. Smoking a water pipe is nothing like
smoking a cigarette, cigarettes are for nervous people,
competitive people, people on the run. When you smoke a
water pipe, you have time to think. It teaches you
patience and tolerance, and gives you an appreciation of
a good company. Sheesha smokers have a much more balanced
approach to life than cigarette smokers do.
The smoke is noticeably cooler than cigarette smoke,
and lightly intoxicating. Before long, the water begins
to turn brown; smokers' say it is filtering out many of
the harmful substances that they would otherwise be
inhaling. The water pipe (sheesha) consists of four parts,
the bottom part is made of glass where the water is
contained. This part is connected to a brass (sometimes
stainless steel) figure top which is the "the heart" of
the sheesha, this part, the regulator, takes the smoke
from the tobacco when the person inhales from the "lai"
(the flexible tube which end by mouthpiece). The whole
apparatus, made of a variety of materials, which might be
glass, brass, gold, silver, wood or cane, is richly
decorated. the water pipe tobacco "mu'assel" comes in
different flavors. It is available in natural plain
flavor like "zaghloul" the most world-wide famous brand
for water pipe tobacco, or in different flavors like apple
"tofahah", which is the most popular, strawberry, mint,
apricot, rose and many other flavors.
There are many principles in smoking sheesha some of
them are:
- never light your cigarette by using burning coal of the waterpipe.
- the water pipe should never be placed higher than the level of your seat.
- never pass the waterpipe directly to another person. Always first put it down and let the next person pick it up.
- water pipe is made for smoking specially prepared tobacco (called mu'assel) that you can only get from good tobacconists. If you use dry tobacco it will cause throat irritation.
How to setup a waterpipe?
- fill the glass base of the waterpipe with water. Make sure you don't fill too much. You should fill enough to approximately cover the tube from the top section by about an inch when it is placed over the base.
- place the heart (top part) over the base (the glass vase). Make sure it fits snugly and is airtight. You may have to add gauze on the inside of the top section.
- attach the mouthpiece to the top section, again making sure that the joint is airtight.
- test that your setup is airtight by placing your hand on top of the waterpipe and then sucking in through the mouth piece. If everything is okay, you should feel a pull at your hand and see bubbles in the water. If either of these two things doesn't happen, then in all likelihood, you have air escaping from somewhere. Carefully check to find the source.
- if your setup is airtight, place some of the tobacco (mu'assel) on top of the water pipe (haggar). If you smoke a flavored mu'assel it is recommended to cover the tobacco by aluminum foil and pierced several times with toothpick.
- go outside and light your charcoal, you can get the self-lighting charcoal (especially made for waterpipe, no kerosene add).
- when lit bring the charcoal inside, holding it with a pair of tongs and place it on top of the tobacco.
- gently pressing down on the charcoal, suck in using the mouthpiece. You should notice smoke building up inside the base and eventually (after about 3-4 puffs); you should feel the taste of the tobacco in your mouth.
Tobacco massell (molasses) the massell
is a kind of tobacco used in smoking the shisha (nargila,
argila, boury and gouza). It is a blend of international
tobacco leaves. this blend gives a special flavor and
taste with the additives of molasses extracted from
sugarcane and other additives. The authorities of
measurement standards have decided on those additives, so
that it will be adequate for smoking. The usage of massell
in egypt was introduced with the ottoman's occupation by
the beginning of the 19th century. The idea was initiated
from the ottoman's vision whilst smoking the shisha they
brought in with them from turkey. They used to smoke what
was called "tombak"; a kind of tobacco planted in turkey
and iran and where its preparation does not include and
technical process (craft) and its quality depends on the
kind of tobacco used. By that time the egyptians were fond
of imitating the turkish for what they have seen of
development in the various areas that accompanied their
existence; in the fields of industry, agriculture and
culture. The problem for egyptians was from where to bring
the shisha and the tobacco? Thus they started to think in
making a replacement for it. They brought a coconut fruit
and made two holes to extract the syrup inside and then
they used a bamboo stick as a substitute for the rubber
tube. The haggar was made of burnt clay, where you place
the tobacco on. Thus the process of producing the shisha
was launched successfully and the egyptians named it
gouza as an autonomy to the name of the coconut fruit
in arabic.
The egyptians started to think in bringing the tobacco,
by that time there were many people working in selling the
rolled cigarettes. It was a flourishing trade by that
time. It was known that the tobacco used in the rolled
cigarettes was cut in fine layers, different than what was
used by the ottomans. During the trials for smoking the
shisha, the tobacco was not stable on the haggar, thus
they failed in imitating the ottomans. In one of the
trials, one of those who loved smoking was having his
dinner; bread and molasses extracted from sugarcane which
was a very popular dessert in egypt. He was trying to fix
the tobacco, then an idea occurred to him to use the
molasses for being sticky to give the tobacco texture;
the process ended successfully. The most important thing
is that it gave the smoker a distinguished flavor whilst
smoking, thus the new method of smoking started which was
mixing tobacco with molasses (extracted from sugarcane)
thus was named massell.
The manufacturers and traders observed that this method
started to be so popular in egypt and hence started to
think how to develop it to be valid for smoking and in
packets which will facilitate usage. They used names to be
so close to the nature of the egyptian consumer who were
mainly by that time the farmer, thus they gave name to it
as trademarks; the palm, the cow, the rose, the canon,
etc. This industry developed, whether in massell which got
various flavors and kinds. Competition increased too
between the working companies in this field and the most
important thing became the know-how of the product. As
development took place with the massell it took place too
with the shisha till it reached what it is presently.
With the advent in the 20th century whereas of smoking
and the discovered harms of smoking cigarettes. Like what
happened to the international companies of great concern
to the studies to decrease the harms of smoking, the
massell companies started to think in ways to decrease
harms albeit the massell is less harmful then the tobacco
cigarettes. By mid eighties, one of the egyptian companies
started to develop the massell products, thus the
production of new brands and kinds with new
specifications. In addition to the decrease of nicotine
percentage till reaching the ceasing of tar totally. They
added flavors to the massell like apple and other fruits.
The target of these companies was to attract the
cigarettes smokers to the massell. By that time it was
known that the users of massell were the egyptians and the
inhabitants of the nearby countries. By the introduction
of the new products with fruit flavors, the product was
met by acceptance not only in the arab countries but with
all the arab groups and their visitors whoever tries it
all over the world.