Dubai for Life

Those who have visited Dubai and the UAE (or neighbouring countries) would already know the charm and social pastime of smoking a good Shisha / Sheesha / Hooka, which is basically a water pipe smoking device that originated in India. In cafés and restaurants, however, it is rare for each smoker not to order an individual hookah, as the price is generally low, ranging from $2 to $10. Most cafés (called maqha— Arabic: مقهى, “coffeeshop”) in the Middle East have hookahs available. Cafés are very widespread, and are amongst the main social gathering places in the Arab world (similar to the status pubs have in the UK).

In the Arab world, social smoking is done with a single or double hose. When the smoker is finished, either the hose is placed back on the table signifying that it is free, or it is handed from one user to the next, folded back on itself so that the mouthpiece does not point at the person receiving it. Another tradition is that the receiver taps or slaps the giver on the back of the hand while taking it as a sign of respect or friendship.

About Shisha / Sheesha / Hooka:

A hookah (Hindustani: हुक़्क़ा / حقّہ huqqa) is a single or multi-stemmed (often glass-based) water pipe device for smoking; originating in India, that has gained popularity, especially in the Arab World. 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 may be referred to by many other names (often of Arab, Indian, Turkish, Uzbek, or Persian origin). Arghile or Narghile is the name most commonly used in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey, Albania,Greece, Israel, Bulgaria and Romania, though the initial “n” is often dropped in Arabic. “Narghile” is from the Persian word “nārgil” or “coconut”. In Sanskrit nārikela (नारीकेल), as the original, primitive hookahs were made out of coconut shells. Shisha (شيشة) is from the Persian word shishe (شیشه, literally translated as glass and not bottle), and is primarily used for water pipes in Egypt and the Arab countries of the Gulf (such as Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, and Saudi Arabia) as well as Morocco, Tunisia, Somalia and Yemen. In Iran it is called ghalyoun or ghalyan (قليان) and in India and Pakistan it is referred to as huqqa (हुक़्क़ा حقّہ) (Source: Wikipedia)

At present there are discussions about banning smoking in public and shisha smoking and Shisha cafes that have mushroomed all over Dubai and the UAE may be at risk… if Shisha smoking is banned in public then fans may have no choice but to enjoy the practice indoors.