Ryan ChartrandI can recall many hot summer nights walking the streets of downtown Cairo. Surrounded by my memories and shadows of an ancient past, I can almost hear the distant music of an exotic nightclub; the smell of Egypt’s European sidewalk cafes imbued with a distinct air of Parisian nostalgia.
But I digress; let’s be serious and get to the point. What I remember most about Egypt is the smoke.
Now, I’d like to point out that I did not say smog. For smog is the toxic pollutant of cars and the devil. No, I deliberately said smoke because my fondest memories of Egypt were the endless nights I spent watching various elderly men smoking hookah, or, as native Egyptians call it, Shisha.
As smoke gently cascaded down out of their nostrils and danced into the desert landscape, I could not help but dream of one day tasting the finest Al-Sultan double apple tobacco for myself. Sadly, I was wrong. Fast forward a few years later to find me smoking the finest tasting peach tobacco the world has ever seen.
After years of recreationally participating in this social pastime with cousins and friends from back home, I began to notice a surprising trend. More and more of my social peers in college have turned to the dark side of the force and are smoking this Arab peace pipe like it’s their job. Why is this happening, and when did this start?
Let’s be serious, hookah has been entertaining the masses for centuries now. It’s not a new phenomenon. In fact, it all began in the nether parts of the Persian Empire in what is today India, but later spread throughout the Arab Empire.
It’s important to note that during this time in history, smoking hookah served a rather unifying function in society as both men and women were able to participate in this activity together. So not only was this an egalitarian activity, but was also a way to bolster friendship amongst neighbors.
This is not only still true today, as smoking hookah is definitely a unifying activity within circles of friends, but I must confess there are a few new perks that only modernity could make mainstream. For example, enter the millions of flavors available to smoke. For today’s tobacco enthusiast there’s the standard apple, strawberry, peach combination, in addition to more extravagant flavors like pineapple, grape, rose, mint and even cappuccino.
As this relatively new hookah craze progresses throughout the United States, as more smoke shops start to carry this distinctly Middle Eastern product, I can’t help but sit back and smile. I smile not only because smoking Shisha is relaxing to me, or because I enjoy the company of my friends and family while doing it, but because I can’t help but wonder if this is our own modern peace pipe.
I look at this new social development and think, it’s amusing that so many people find they can openly discuss world events, or politics, or religion over a good smoke. Maybe it’s the creative energy that is naturally produced when a group of people get together. Maybe it’s all the exotic flavor of imported tobacco bombarding the senses; or perhaps it’s just the smoke.