subject: The History And Culture Of Shisha In Turkey [print this page] The History The History
Western countries like Australia, North America and the United Kingdom didnt start to see shisha (a.k.a. sheesha or hookah) as an increasingly popular form of tobacco consumption until the late 1960s, early 1970s. But Nargile, as shisha is referred to as in many parts of the Middle East and Asia including Turkey, dates back much further than that.
The origins of shisha can be traced back to mid-16th century North West India when Europe started trading tobacco in that part of the world. One man, a physician to the Mughal court who grew aware of the health problems concerning smoking tobacco, invented a technique in which the smoke passed through water to be purified, thus inventing the practice many of us know today as shisha. As this new form of smoking then known as huqqa from which the word hukkah is derived was introduced through the aristocratic Mughul court, the smoking of this early water pipe quickly became very popular amongst the Indian elite.
However, there is evidence to suggest that such a smoking device was already in use in the Arab world before this time, as a poem from 1535 by a Persian poet references alyn (another term for a water pipe used for smoking tobacco). Therefore, perhaps it is more accurate to state that this Indian physician helped propel the pipe to its International popularity.
Shisha was given the name Nargile during the time of the Persian Empire (to which Turkey belonged) with Nargile the Persian word for coconut, describing what the apparatus was originally made from. Later on, Ottoman craftsmen in Turkey started to fashion their shisha out of beautifully and intricately carved glass and ceramic.
Today, most cafes in the Middle East and Arab world offer shisha. Although traditional users in Turkish cities such as Izmir prefer to only smoke shisha using normal, plain tobacco, a range of flavoured or aromatic tobaccos such as fruit and coffee is also widely available. Shisha is now also very popular in South Africa (where is more commonly known as hubbly bubbly), Philippines and Indonesia (shisha) and of course India (hookah), but can also be found quite easily in many Western and European cities under various names.
Culture
Smoking the Nargile is undeniably still an important pastime in Turkey but it peaked back between the 17th and 19th centuries. Smoked at leisure, the Nargile was enjoyed by both men and women. Coffee shop culture in Turkey was strong at this time and from about the mid-17th century, the smoking of the Nargile was at its peak amongst the typical Turkish community. The Turks love of the Nargile soon meant rules were created for the lighting and smoking of the pipe; if these rules were broken, you were asked in no uncertain terms to leave the coffee shop.
The ceremonious process of preparing and lighting the Nargile was highly fashionable amongst the Ottoman Empire elite and so a hostess was often judged by her ability to offer the best quality tobacco and to abide by the strict tradition in which the water pipe was presented to her guests. The popularity of the water pipe around the 19th and 20th centuries was so high that it became the thing for ladies to have their photograph taken with the Nargile water pipe.
Although during the mid-20th century traditional Nargile culture was quickly replaced by the modern obsession with cigarettes, but since the latter part of the century it has also made a gradual comeback. Today, the Nargile is once again enjoyed by both the Turkish locals and their tourist guests.
