Smoked A Hookah In Iran!...

[Sherv]

Hey everyone! I'm a lurker on these boards and haven't been around for very long, but I've been smoking a hookah since mid 2006 when I went to Turkey and instantly fell in love. For the past month I've been in Iran and finally, last week, had the chance to hit up a teahouse to smoke a hookah (there's apparently a government-sponsored movement against public smoking of hookahs, more on that once I leave the country and don't have to worry about what I type), aka a ghalyun.

Anyway, I was in Esfahan, a gorgeous city in central Iran, and I went to this neat little off-the-beaten-path chaykhaneh (teahouse). Full of men and women, and a %*))*@ton of lamps for some reason:


Here's the hookah I used:


obligatory glamor shot:



Lastly, here's one I picked up for 10,000 IRL (~$10) in the bazaar the next day:

I originally didn't like the wooden stem structure AT ALL, but when I smoked out of one I found it quite nice, actually. I feared it would rot easily and be shoddy, but the construction seem solid, surprisingly. I didn't get a hose since i have plenty at home, and I bargained for the copper basket on the right; put in some lit coals and twirl the basket around a bit to get them nice and hot! It sure beats getting light-headed blowing on the damn things

The base is rather small, hell, the entire thing is, but I got it mostly because I wanted to own a true Iranian ghalyun. The little picture in the center of the base is of a Qajar, a member of one of the most corrupt and despicable dynasties in Iran that were responsible for a tremendous amount of destruction of beautiful artwork in many castles, mosques, and so on. Despite my digust for those rulers I opted to get a base with a Qajar on it because otherwise I was left with a solid color with nothing else adorning it...

The fittings are incredibly loose...what they do here is wrap string around the base of the stem and moisten it, it makes a pretty solid seal, surprisingly. I really love the copper wiring at the top of the bowl, it collapses and rises as needed to hold the coal!

I'm not back in the States till early July, so once I get back and have a chance to try it I'll post my results in this thread

[coplinb]

That is an awesome looking hookah you got there, I would love to have something like that.

[Sherv]

Thanks coplinb!

I wasn't able to edit my previous post, so here's some additional stuff I wanted to include in my first post:

I've picked up a bunch of shisha too! I've been looking for only Iranian stuff, with the idea that it won't be as easy to find online (no idea whether it is or not, I haven't really tried looking for it, but of all the online stores I've checked I haven't seen the following brands)...so far I have:

Al-Shamim: Two Apples, Orange
Fakhur: Cucumber (!!!!, this smells SO good), Lemon & Orange, Saffron, Cardamom
Fars Moassal Tobacci (Pishgaman Ghaem Fars Company): Sweet Melon, Banana, Lemon

They all have Farsi written on them claiming they are made in Iran, but there's so much BS here that I wouldn't be surprised if they were re-branded Arabic shisha
If anyone has any suggestions for shisha to look for, please let me know! Hell, I'll even try to get some to send to you, if possible!

[Sherwood]

Beautiful purchase, Sherv. Good on you for getting to Iran, as well. There are easier to places to go, but few as rewarding. How long are you there for?

[newjacksm]

I think Fakhur is an Al Fakher rip off brand however I might be wrong and thinking of Al Fakhur which could be completely different so like I said I may be wrong.

Have fun in Iran and enjoy the shisha that we can not get and hell for 10 dollars I would be buying a couple more hookahs!

[Sherv]

Beautiful purchase, Sherv. Good on you for getting to Iran, as well. There are easier to places to go, but few as rewarding. How long are you there for?

Thanks dude! I was born here and left when I was 4, so there's been a ton of history to learn as well as family to see. I've been here for about a month, leaving in 3 days

I think Fakhur is an Al Fakher rip off brand however I might be wrong and thinking of Al Fakhur which could be completely different so like I said I may be wrong.

Have fun in Iran and enjoy the shisha that we can not get and hell for 10 dollars I would be buying a couple more hookahs!

Yeah, you may be right, who knows with the bazaar merchants I wanted to buy more but I have no more room in my luggage I think I'm gonna regret not getting more

[ilikemyusername]

wow, i like it!

[coplinb]

I think Fakhur is an Al Fakher rip off brand however I might be wrong and thinking of Al Fakhur which could be completely different so like I said I may be wrong.

Have fun in Iran and enjoy the shisha that we can not get and hell for 10 dollars I would be buying a couple more hookahs!

Yeah I think a couple days ago, someone had said the fakhur wasnt a knockoff, just another type of shisha that just wasnt as heard of.

[thecyrax]

You have got to be shitting me.

I'm in Esfahan right now and was at that EXACT same hookah bar tonight (in Meydoon-emam).

You should PM me your #, I'm here until Sunday so it would be crazy to meet up.

I think you got slightly overcharged on that hookah BTW.

I bought one 2 weeks ago for 6k Tuman

If you'd like I could show you around some of the older parts of the bazaar and find you some nice hookah mouth pieces, pipes, etc.
I know I've been on the hunt for something PERFECT recently.

[awhurst011]

looks like fun

[Scalliwag]

pretty neat vacation you have going bro. How dense does the wood on the stem feel? Is it very heavy or sealed?

[apetimberlake]

Beautiful purchase, Sherv. Good on you for getting to Iran, as well. There are easier to places to go, but few as rewarding. How long are you there for?

Thanks dude! I was born here and left when I was 4, so there's been a ton of history to learn as well as family to see. I've been here for about a month, leaving in 3 days

I think Fakhur is an Al Fakher rip off brand however I might be wrong and thinking of Al Fakhur which could be completely different so like I said I may be wrong.

Have fun in Iran and enjoy the shisha that we can not get and hell for 10 dollars I would be buying a couple more hookahs!

Yeah, you may be right, who knows with the bazaar merchants I wanted to buy more but I have no more room in my luggage I think I'm gonna regret not getting more

Iran is a very interesting an misunderstood place.
A friend of mine (Jewish Iranian) went back for the first time in years, and was amazed with the progress there (left during the revolution)

Your hookah looks amazing BTW

[Sherv]

You have got to be shitting me.

I'm in Esfahan right now and was at that EXACT same hookah bar tonight (in Meydoon-emam).

You should PM me your #, I'm here until Sunday so it would be crazy to meet up.

I think you got slightly overcharged on that hookah BTW.

I bought one 2 weeks ago for 6k Tuman

If you'd like I could show you around some of the older parts of the bazaar and find you some nice hookah mouth pieces, pipes, etc.
I know I've been on the hunt for something PERFECT recently.

Hahaha, no way dude!! Sadly, I was only in Esfahan for 2 days, I'm on a whirlwind trip through Iran and didn't have much time there. Such a great city though, I definitely have to come back. I'm back in stinky Tehran

Yeah, I'm terrible at bargaining, but I brought him down from 17 to 10 and felt proud of myself I have such a terrible accent when speaking Farsi that I'm immediately pegged as a tourist, hehe. It woulda been really awesome to meet up, though! I was there last Thursday and Friday, really bad timing since Thursday was a memorial service, Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra I think, and the bazaar was closed, and Friday is...well, Friday Post some pics of your finds if/when you can! I'd love to see what you get!

[RingsMaster]

beautiful hookah, i one day hope to be able to do something like this, looks like one fun trip lol

[Sherv]

Scalli: the wood appears to be rather smooth and not too porous, but very light. Supposedly, you're to soak the wood in water over night before the first use, then after a few uses it'll start to smoke well. I tried two bowls at the chaykhaneh and both hookahs were pretty ravaged but smoked quite well at first. Sadly, they didn't last very long, despite my attempts to stoke the coals a bit

[RingsMaster]

Scalli: the wood appears to be rather smooth and not too porous, but very light. Supposedly, you're to soak the wood in water over night before the first use, then after a few uses it'll start to smoke well. I tried two bowls at the chaykhaneh and both hookahs were pretty ravaged but smoked quite well at first. Sadly, they didn't last very long, despite my attempts to stoke the coals a bit

i wonder why you have to do that first? clue me in lol

[thecyrax]

Scalli: the wood appears to be rather smooth and not too porous, but very light. Supposedly, you're to soak the wood in water over night before the first use, then after a few uses it'll start to smoke well. I tried two bowls at the chaykhaneh and both hookahs were pretty ravaged but smoked quite well at first. Sadly, they didn't last very long, despite my attempts to stoke the coals a bit

i wonder why you have to do that first? clue me in lol

I've always left mine soaking for 2 days in water.
It helps get rid of the taste of the wood mostly, but it also makes the wood expand slightly, fitting the vase/hose a bit better. I always wet the wood down before smoking, too. You'd be surprised how much it can cool down the smoke especially if the weather is nice out.

Serv, the reason the bowls don't last long is that they only pack about 5g of shisha in the bowls. This is the standard thing to do here, which is why bowls only last 20-30 min (and the reason they can withstand a handful of charcoal on top).

Did you try the Hakoom (flavorless, direct coals on top)?

I feel you on the tourist thing, btw.

I've been coming here every summer for the past 10 years so I have a pretty deep Esfahani accent now

The first few times I came here, I would definitely be charged 2-3x too much for certain stuff if I didn't let someone else do the talking.

Edited June 3, 2009 by thecyrax

[Tom1]

Holy lamps! That's way too many lamps for me to handle.

I'd like to see a pic of stem of the one you bought, it looks interesting.

[mushrat]

Hey everyone! I'm a lurker on these boards and haven't been around for very long, but I've been smoking a hookah since mid 2006 when I went to Turkey and instantly fell in love. For the past month I've been in Iran and finally, last week, had the chance to hit up a teahouse to smoke a hookah (there's apparently a government-sponsored movement against public smoking of hookahs, more on that once I leave the country and don't have to worry about what I type), aka a ghalyun.

Anyway, I was in Esfahan, a gorgeous city in central Iran, and I went to this neat little off-the-beaten-path chaykhaneh (teahouse). Full of men and women, and a %*))*@ton of lamps for some reason:


Here's the hookah I used:


obligatory glamor shot:



Lastly, here's one I picked up for 10,000 IRL (~$10) in the bazaar the next day:

I originally didn't like the wooden stem structure AT ALL, but when I smoked out of one I found it quite nice, actually. I feared it would rot easily and be shoddy, but the construction seem solid, surprisingly. I didn't get a hose since i have plenty at home, and I bargained for the copper basket on the right; put in some lit coals and twirl the basket around a bit to get them nice and hot! It sure beats getting light-headed blowing on the damn things

The base is rather small, hell, the entire thing is, but I got it mostly because I wanted to own a true Iranian ghalyun. The little picture in the center of the base is of a Qajar, a member of one of the most corrupt and despicable dynasties in Iran that were responsible for a tremendous amount of destruction of beautiful artwork in many castles, mosques, and so on. Despite my digust for those rulers I opted to get a base with a Qajar on it because otherwise I was left with a solid color with nothing else adorning it...

The fittings are incredibly loose...what they do here is wrap string around the base of the stem and moisten it, it makes a pretty solid seal, surprisingly. I really love the copper wiring at the top of the bowl, it collapses and rises as needed to hold the coal!

I'm not back in the States till early July, so once I get back and have a chance to try it I'll post my results in this thread

I WANT SOME OF THOSE BOWLS!

I have been lookign everywhere for those Tombac/Zagouhl bowls and I can't find them anyplace in the states. The ones with the wire work around the bowl. I'd be happy to pay you for some if you have a change to buy any. I'll take 5 if you get the chance.
Thanks man.

[gunsboy]

Nice. I cannot wait to visit Syria to take pictures of some hookah places.

I love that hookah. Wood is awesome, it absorbs the taste and makes next smoking session a more yummy one.

[Sherv]

I've always left mine soaking for 2 days in water.
It helps get rid of the taste of the wood mostly, but it also makes the wood expand slightly, fitting the vase/hose a bit better. I always wet the wood down before smoking, too. You'd be surprised how much it can cool down the smoke especially if the weather is nice out.

Serv, the reason the bowls don't last long is that they only pack about 5g of shisha in the bowls. This is the standard thing to do here, which is why bowls only last 20-30 min (and the reason they can withstand a handful of charcoal on top).

Did you try the Hakoom (flavorless, direct coals on top)?

I feel you on the tourist thing, btw.

I've been coming here every summer for the past 10 years so I have a pretty deep Esfahani accent now

The first few times I came here, I would definitely be charged 2-3x too much for certain stuff if I didn't let someone else do the talking.

Man, what I would give to lose my American accent...and to improve my vocabulary! My reading has drastically improved though, which makes me happy Where do you live, thecyrax?

I noticed the foil was really bowed low, now that makes sense that they would pack so little shisha I didn't try the unflavored stuff, I was with my mom and I wanted something that wouldn't turn her off too much to the hookah (Persian mothers.... )

I'd like to see a pic of stem of the one you bought, it looks interesting.

I shall take one later tonight!

I WANT SOME OF THOSE BOWLS!

I have been lookign everywhere for those Tombac/Zagouhl bowls and I can't find them anyplace in the states. The ones with the wire work around the bowl. I'd be happy to pay you for some if you have a change to buy any. I'll take 5 if you get the chance.
Thanks man.

Word! I'm gonna try to go to the bazaars tomorrow and/or Friday, but most places are closed on Fridays and tomorrow is the 20 years anniversary of Khomeni's death so most places are closed as well (supposedly). That said, I'll be heading out and I'll let you know if I find anything!

[Hookie The Hookah]

Hey, does anyone know of specific tobacco brands to look out for (ie good ones) in Iran? My friend is going for a month next month and offered to snag me some stuff that can't be found in the US.

[MeNouA]

Oh man that's amazing stuff man. I was born in Iran as well. In Tehran the country capital but my family moved out when I was three. I really want to go back and learn the culture and see how life is over there, oh and OF COURSE check out the hookahs

[Scalliwag]

Scalli: the wood appears to be rather smooth and not too porous, but very light. Supposedly, you're to soak the wood in water over night before the first use, then after a few uses it'll start to smoke well. I tried two bowls at the chaykhaneh and both hookahs were pretty ravaged but smoked quite well at first. Sadly, they didn't last very long, despite my attempts to stoke the coals a bit

I would soak it about 3 days in olive oil. Get the oil warm (about 150F) so it will absorb well into the wood. Water seems like it would not have much longterm affect and it you did that very often it would likely cause problems,

I've left one of my olivewood bowls soaking for several weeks now in olive oil and so far it looks good. Moisture content changes in wood and creates problems like warping and twisting, cracking. I've used heat and putting it under vacuum to draw out as much moisture as possible and replace any microvoids with oil.
Don't soak it in oil if it has been soaked in water unless you have slowly brought the temp up (in an oven or ?) to around 150-175F for an hour or so, then put it in hot oil.
Just a suggestion bro

[Sherv]

Hmm, that sounds like a good idea, I'll try both approaches, as well as maybe just smoking through it w/out doing anything to the stem.

Here is the pic, as promised earlier!