Hookah Varieties?

[rbyers]

What are the differences between Egyptian and Syrian and x other kinds of hookahs?
I've seen some advertised as Egyptian and Chinese and all sorts of other nations and I'm wonder if the design is different for them?

[Hookah_Bob3]

Syrians tend to have the kind of bowl that goes INTO the stem, as opposed to over it (not sure which is male/female, etc, so I explain this way)

Egyptians: Classic style with the opposite type of bowl as syrians (nearly all hookahs are "egyptian" style bowls)

Mods: Chinese, etc..Just depends on where it's manufactured. Most will say stay away from chinese made hookahs, but many Myas are manufactured there and are known to be high quality, though most chinese made hookahs do suck

[lazria]

Syrians tend to have the kind of bowl that goes INTO the stem, as opposed to over it (not sure which is male/female, etc, so I explain this way)

They are now making Syrians with standard Egptyian bowl tops. I have two of the newer Syrians with the "Male" top (the bowl sits on the stem, not into the stem).

[HKJON]

What are the differences between Egyptian and Syrian and x other kinds of hookahs?
I've seen some advertised as Egyptian and Chinese and all sorts of other nations and I'm wonder if the design is different for them?

Egyptian and Syrian indicate the country of origin, of course, but they are generally known to differ in the manner described in the previous post. ie. bowl style. but the biggest difference I have seen is the ornateness of the stem and glass art. The Syrian hookahs I typically run across tend to differ in the folk art aspect of the design. Both type of hookahs, however, are typically produced using a process that employs machine and hand-made hookah architecture.

Mod hookahs or Modern Hookahs are all Chinese manufactured and are available in varying quality. Mya has long been copied by other manufacturers due to their popularity in the market, but these days Chinese manufacturing has been utilized to produce some really interesting and high quality hookahs. Mod hookahs are typically made to disassemble and reassemble and produced with automated manufacturing processes.

[Lakemonster]

another general observation is that many of the the Syrian made hookahs out there are made from cast brass.

Egyptian hookahs are are almost always made from spun metal parts that are soldered or pressed together.

Each country of origen puts out crap to perfection. So in a quality sense... theres to real quality leader.

[LuxOR541]

great answers guys. I love both styles. Syrians seem to be a little harder to come by in much variety. There are companies like smoking-hookah and hookahook that have a large variety but they are located overseas. I decided not to buy a recent hookah from Hookahook after not getting any e-mail responses for a couple of months regarding their products.

it seems easier to be able to find quality egyptians, so if your just wanting to ensure you get a good hookah, buy from a reputable vendor who has a presence on this board, and you'll be fine. If your wanting something exotic and a little different than everyone else, start doing some investigating. Maybe someone like hookahkings or MNhookahs can track down something you want and special order it for you.

I personally have 2 egyptians, a Syrian and a high end MYA on the way. I enjoy them all.

[ggb]

Is there a distinctive "lebanese" style? I recall a few threads about where to get lebanese hookahs, but I was never clear on if this was a distinct variety.