Smoking Nargiles in Turkey

Nargiles are also called a hooka pipe, hubble bubbles or water pipes. In Turkish, they are called nargiles. Nargiles are prevelant in Arab countries and in Turkey diminished in popularity for many years. However, the new generation of college students has revived the tradition of Nargiles and it is no longer relegated to tourist areas. In the cities, you will see Nargile bars where you can order a pipe to smoke for about 10TL or less. These bars can be found in trendy areas or student populated areas. The nargile consists of four main parts. The base is filled with water. Do not fill it too full, or it will drown out the smoke you want to create inside the bowl. The stem seals to the glass base, and the bowl of tobacco sits on top of that. Next there is the hose, with a mouth piece, that fits into the stem. After you have added water to the base and assembled your nargile, pack the bowl with the sweet, flavoured, wet tobacco sold for specifically for nargiles. Do not pack it too hard, because you need air to filter into the tobacco to allow it to burn. Cover the bowl with tinfoil and poke tiny holes around the top to let air in. Light coals to be red-hot and place them on top of the tinfoil. It will take a few "pulls" to get the smoke flowly smoothly. Replace the coals as needed. Do not try to smoke dry tobacco or other substances in the pipe, because it is too strong and will merely burn quickly and not have a good effect. Happy smoking!