Thread: Hookahs

If you go to your local Arab market (usually genuine Arab cuisine restaurants, markets and shisha lounges are in the same area) you can buy one, along with shisha. Now, the market I went to had some beat up ones, but there were a few that looked very solid. It also had the best shisha brand (Al Fakher) and Turkish Delight (sorry, I just had to mention that)

You can find really interesting things there. I challenge you to go out on a limb and eat Syrian food. As for me, I just got back from a huge meal of lamb, Hummus, Falafel and many other foods. My advice is to order the BIG combo dish that has a little bit of everything. Oh, and don't expect plates with the pita/hummus appetizer.

Also, if the server is genuinely Middle Eastern, they usually love it when people know where the Middle East is, let alone its history. My server translated "Saladin" (Salah-Al-Din) to "The man of religion who will repair the state of religion" He was thunderstruck that he should come across someone who knew anything about the Middle East, Syria in particular.

Originally Posted by Vance

If you go to your local Arab market (usually genuine Arab cuisine restaurants, markets and shisha lounges are in the same area) you can buy one, along with shisha. Now, the market I went to had some beat up ones, but there were a few that looked very solid. It also had the best shisha brand (Al Fakher) and Turkish Delight (sorry, I just had to mention that)

You can find really interesting things there. I challenge you to go out on a limb and eat Syrian food. As for me, I just got back from a huge meal of lamb, Hummus, Falafel and many other foods. My advice is to order the BIG combo dish that has a little bit of everything. Oh, and don't expect plates with the pita/hummus appetizer.

Also, if the server is genuinely Middle Eastern, they usually love it when people know where the Middle East is, let alone its history. My server translated "Saladin" (Salah-Al-Din) to "The man of religion who will repair the state of religion" He was thunderstruck that he should come across someone who knew anything about the Middle East, Syria in particular.

Man you gotta try Cos Cos too, that stuff is awsome. It's one of the best Arabic food in my opinion.

Cos Cos is great. I have it a lot, especially when I eat steak.

For me, relaxing after a long day of classes with a nice hookah session is the best way to end the day. My favorite part about smoking from a hookah is the smoke itself. I never get tired of watching it. Also, smoke rings are fun too. Smoking outside is amazing too, like at the beach, or anywhere really. I just can't believe I never even knew what a hookah was until a few years ago.

I've only read like 2 sentences from this thread but all I have to say is you are completely wrong about the hookah smoking mentality in the US. It is not a drug experience, not for anyone, nobody at all. It is meant for relaxing, socializing and practicing your Os. My friends smoke on blankets in the park with a couple guitars going. I have never met anyone in the US who thought Hookah was a drug or behaved with the hookah in a drug like way except for michael scott and the guy that gives drug safety classes to all the kids that got caught drinking

Sure, once in a while we'll mix in a little weed but we don't really consider that a drug either.

They're called Shishas.

Really? I had no idea. Wait, actually I kind of did, especially when referring to Shisha dens. Or if you want to get really traditionalist you call them a Nargile. Or (as a common American name for them) a hubble-bubble. No joke.

No, we call it shisha here, too. Stop using americans and hookahs in the same sentence because you dont know what you're talking about.

Well, I just threw that in to cause controversy, not necessarily having any knowledge about linguistic diversity in describing this device. Here a hookah is a synonym for a specific bong whereas a shisha is an entirely different device used to consume tobacco.

Gigantic Blocks of Text!

I used to smoke hookah, but after i quit cigarettes I stopped, at least for now.
But i completely agree with you on the type of people who smoke hookah in america. It's mostly dumbass college students who don't understand moderation. It seems like whenever something gets popular in america it just goes to hell.

Originally Posted by Omnius Deus

No, we call it shisha here, too. Stop using americans and hookahs in the same sentence because you dont know what you're talking about.

Wow, had no idea that would piss you off. So you are saying Americans never use the word "hookah" or "hubble-bubble," only "shisha." I find that strange, because everywhere I look I see hookah lounges, hookah websites and hookah parties. I'm not saying that Americans don't call it shisha, you can find people calling them everything, I was just putting it out there that hookah is common too. It's not like I made up hookah when the rest of the world calls it shisha.

Who really cares that much about word usage? I see no reason to get upset over it. In America, what we call soccer, is what pretty much the rest of the world calls football. I personally don't give a shit. If you pay attention to the context, you can understand what people are saying. Hookah, shisha, hubble-bubble, hookah-session, it all basically refers to the same activity. As long as whichever word you use conveys the meaning you intended, it is not important that everyone else use that same word for the same meaning. But it's your life, you can be anal if you want to, just my views on word usage.

Hey everyone look how sophisticated I am I can smoke from a hookah. Am I the only one who see's the irony of how everyone who despise dumb "amrican" kids, who are trying to be hip, are just essentially getting off on the fact that they can blow smoke a certain way, and deeming themself "cultured". Get off your high horse, you all seem rather foolish to me.

First off, word usage was NOT the problem I had with hipsters and hookahs.

Originally Posted by jarrell

Hey everyone look how sophisticated I am I can smoke from a hookah. Am I the only one who see's the irony of how everyone who despise dumb "amrican" kids, who are trying to be hip, are just essentially getting off on the fact that they can blow smoke a certain way, and deeming themself "cultured". Get off your high horse, you all seem rather foolish to me.

I never called myself cultured, I said that if you smoke one you should understand the culture behind it. I don't smoke one, I will smoke one, and I will not stuff it with weed and chemicals.