Tuesday, December 18, 2012

What is a Hookah Bar?

By John McCree


Initially popularized the in the U.S. in the 1960's and 70's, hookah smoking is becoming increasingly common ever since the turn of the century. Simply put, a hookah bar is a commercial establishment where patrons share shisha tobacco with a smoking device called a "hookah". There are plenty of Hookah bars in towns in the U.S.

Quick History

The origin of hookah can be traced back to five centuries in what was then called the Subcontinent. Making its way through Iran and into Turkey it experienced an increase of popularity among Turkish upper class and started to spread a lot more quickly down through Lebanon and Syria and finally to Egypt, therefore, the hookah bar is greatly associated with the Middle East. Hookah bars in the middle east became the place for the elite to socialize and smoke hookah.

Characteristics of Hookah Bars

In the more ethnic places, the lounges often look like their roots more carefully, often managed by people of Arab descent, furnished and decorated with a Middle Eastern or Indian design. At a few bars, there is nothing served besides hookah. Several, however, provide coffee, sodas, and snacks at least. The vast majority of smaller lounges don't have a liquor license and they don't serve liquor. The larger bars, however, possess a liquor license and they serve many cocktails in addition to wine and beer. It is not uncommon to see belly dancers, live bands, or DJs in the more high end urban hookah bars because they look like a "night club" more closely than a community social establishment.

Near college campuses, hookah bars tend to be more casual with a wide mix of patrons, which includes college students of course. The trend has become common as a safer alternative to other sorts of smoking. Hookah bars do well near colleges as college life is a time to try new stuff and enjoy the freedom of life. Cities famous for their secondary education institutions, like Washington DC or Raleigh, NC have noticed a surge in popularity with regards to these lounges.

Let's Talk About a Hookah

Now you must be wondering what a hookah is? What is so special about this device that it is becoming popular all around the world. Legend has it the hookah was first made in 1588 by a Persian physician in the Indian court. The Indians referred to the device as a "huqqa", a title which has stayed with it throughout history, although it is referred to as a great many other names for example "nargile," "shisha," and "hubble-bubble" to name a few.

While the primitive hookah looked much different, perhaps made from coconut shells, the result has always been the same: purify and cool the smoke by moving it through water before breathing in. Following are the main parts of a hookah:

1. Bowl - to keep the tobacco.

2. Body - smoke produced from the burning tobacco is passed through the body to reach the water basin.

3. Water Basin - has the water to purify and cool the smoke. After purifying the smoke remains in a chamber over the water.

4. Hose - the smoker puffs on the hose to breathe in smoke from the holding chamber where it is kept after purification. Ordinarily a hose is approximately one to two meters long.

The above mechanism gives the smoker calming and fragrant smoke.

A senior customer of a well known hookah business in turkey said:

"The important thing isn't what you put in the pipe, but who is with you while you're smoking. The purpose is to enjoy. You can find, good, old, intriguing and all sorts of people in a bar like this. Hookahs bars will remain in the world so long as people wish to take out time to enjoy the company of their good friends."




About the Author:



No comments: