Hello From Madrid (Spain)

[Hookah-burgar]

hello everybody!

I first saw oriental waterpipes on my first trip to Tunisia back in 1989. Nevertheless I did'nt start smoking waterpipes until 1998 when I returned there with my Tunisian girlfriend. I remember getting quite dizzy and even ill the first two times I smoked with her father and oncles: As most old men in Tunisia, they would smoke "Sheikh el balad" molasses, which have a natural tobacco taste, with no fruit or artificial flavour... From then on I started smoking "moassel" (tobacco with molasses) on waterpipes, and collecting those. I now own 9 of them: Two beautiful Tunisian ones, with Bohemian (Czech made) crystal bases, another coper made one, also from Tunisia (this is the only one I never tried, and decorates my living room), a normal Egyptian one bought in Madrid, a huge rotator from Egypt, two rather small chinese made modern hookahs plus an indian mid-size hookah with wooden stem. These days I am eagerly awaiting arrival of a first quality Turkish Hookah with leather hose I just bought through the web from a shop in Germany.
Until now I smoked molasses from Nakhla (which are readily available here in Spain) and, from time to time, "Sheikh el Balad" natural molasses. I just tried some Starbuzz and Romman molasses about a week ago. I bought them in American webpages.
I might add that I am a regular pipe smoker (normal pipes), since the year 2000. In 2004, together with a colleague we launched a pipe club which now has in excess of forty members. We meet every thursday in a café. From time to time we organise lectures or presentations. Last week it was my turn to share with my fellow pipe smokers, my knowledge of Waterpipes, their history and that of the tobaccos smoked in them (Tombak, Jurak, Molasses...) (Sorry I am not used to refer to tobacco mixture using the word Shisha, which in Arabic means bottle, an is used to mean waterpipe in Tunisia and other countries, particularly when molasses are smoked).
I am eager to try "tombak" wether it be on a trip to Turkey, Iran, Syria or Egypt, or by getting some of the stuff here. From what I have seen, a couple of websites sell Isfahani tombak, but it seems very dry and rather difficult to prepare succesfully. Anyhow, I am eager to learn from You all, follow your tips and advices, and, of course, contribute with my humbble experience.
By the way, I choose my Nickname as I discovered a most interesting book on the web yesterday. Some of You will probably know it well. I enjoyed a lot reading the pages 220 to 228 of the East India Vade-Mecum, by a Captain Williamson, about hookah smoking in India at the beggining of the nineteenth Century...

[delSol_si]

hey man, sounds like you've got an interesting collection of hookahs. If you wouldn't mind, id really like to see them. http://www.hookahforum.com/topic/17811-show-your-collection-post/page__st__120 there is a thread where a lot of us have posted a picture of our collections if you are interested in doing so.

[Hookah-burgar]

[quote name='delSol_si' date='27 January 2010 - 05:34 PM' timestamp='1264610045' post='447988']
hey man, sounds like you've got an interesting collection of hookahs. If you wouldn't mind, id really like to see them. [url="http://www.hookahforum.com/topic/17811-show-your-collection-post/page__st__120"]http://www.hookahfor...t/page__st__120[/url] there is a thread where a lot of us have posted a picture of our collections if you are interested in doing so.
[/quote]

Thank You "delSol_si",

I will show my collection as soon as I make new pictures of them. I'm afraid I went through the pics I have and they where really poor, besides in a couple of days I hope to get my new Turkish Elmas Narguile, which I hope will come with a nice base and nice traditional hose. Mark that I am quite old fashioned and haven't tried yet such things as phunnel bowls, khalil Mammoon hoses, or ice bellow the bowl (things that seem quite popular in the States...) I kind of smoke the good old way, as I learned in Tunisia... ;-) and I love traditional or antique pipes or those who look like them, even if I was very much impressed by the new czech "Meduse Design" stuff...

[delSol_si]

I'll be looking forward to that! http://www.hookahforum.com/topic/35854-it-has-finally-arrived/ check that one out if you are into traditional pipes. I am guessing that pipe looks pretty normal for you, but for most of us on the boards, it is a rare jewel....a lot of us are REALLY wanting one, but they are extremely hard to find for a decent price here in the states. I believe that pipe i linked you to is very similar to the one you are getting, no?

Ya, i have one of those "ice bucket" hookahs you speak of. I don't normally use the ice bucket though, usually turns out to be more work than its worth, i simply enjoy the aesthetics of it, though. so far, all of my hookahs are more of the modern style that you talk about, but hopefully one day i will be able to get my hands on a more traditional one. Luckily, the only "chinese" ones i have are Mya's, which are said to be fairly decent hookahs, though they are by far NOT my favorite.

[Hookah-burgar]

[quote name='delSol_si' date='27 January 2010 - 09:37 PM' timestamp='1264624678' post='448014']
I'll be looking forward to that! [url="http://www.hookahforum.com/topic/35854-it-has-finally-arrived/"]http://www.hookahfor...inally-arrived/[/url] check that one out if you are into traditional pipes. I am guessing that pipe looks pretty normal for you, but for most of us on the boards, it is a rare jewel....a lot of us are REALLY wanting one, but they are extremely hard to find for a decent price here in the states. I believe that pipe i linked you to is very similar to the one you are getting, no?

Ya, i have one of those "ice bucket" hookahs you speak of. I don't normally use the ice bucket though, usually turns out to be more work than its worth, i simply enjoy the aesthetics of it, though. so far, all of my hookahs are more of the modern style that you talk about, but hopefully one day i will be able to get my hands on a more traditional one. Luckily, the only "chinese" ones i have are Mya's, which are said to be fairly decent hookahs, though they are by far NOT my favorite.
[/quote]

Wow! Yes that is indeed a beautiful pipe! What a lucky man! Well, my first Elmas (I think I will buy some more if it pleases me, as I expect) will be a smaller one, but same style. I really hope it will arrive tomorrow or on friday... I am so impatient! I went mad about those old fashioned huge leather hoses when I discovered Elmas Nargile web last week. As I said my first two Tunisian pipes, of the best available quality ten years ago, look quite similar...

Of course, I will as well purchase, sometime in the future a nice Mya pipe, with czecv crystal base, some look really nice, and a namoor hose too, just to try...

[delSol_si]

ooo wow, those czech crystal vases are pricey! where are you getting it from? i am sooo looking forward to your collection pics!!

about the nammor hose, look at the razan hoses as well. they are both very similar, but i have heard more success stories from razan hoses. I bought 2 busted razan's off a forum member here (he said they were his first hoses, which means they were pretty old), the first one was busted pretty bad, but i rebuilt it, the second one came in and it wasn't in too bad of shape, but i went ahead and rebuilt it too. After i got the rebuild done, they have been the BEST hoses i have used. plus they are said to be washable i haven't washed them yet, but probably will soon.

[Hookah-burgar]

[quote name='delSol_si' date='28 January 2010 - 03:03 AM' timestamp='1264644218' post='448057']
ooo wow, those czech crystal vases are pricey! where are you getting it from? i am sooo looking forward to your collection pics!!

about the nammor hose, look at the razan hoses as well. they are both very similar, but i have heard more success stories from razan hoses. I bought 2 busted razan's off a forum member here (he said they were his first hoses, which means they were pretty old), the first one was busted pretty bad, but i rebuilt it, the second one came in and it wasn't in too bad of shape, but i went ahead and rebuilt it too. After i got the rebuild done, they have been the BEST hoses i have used. plus they are said to be washable i haven't washed them yet, but probably will soon.
[/quote]

Well my parcel has arrived!!! But when they brought it, this morning, I was not at home...[img]http://www.hookahforum.com/public/style_emoticons/default/sad.gif[/img] [img]http://www.hookahforum.com/public/style_emoticons/default/dash1.gif[/img]

So we will have to wait until tomorrow afternoon, when I will able to pick it up at the local Post Office.

Anyway, it seems that shipping time was ok. I bought it on Friday it arrived after 4 days (not counting the WE). Promising for further purchases... [img]http://www.hookahforum.com/public/style_emoticons/default/good2.gif[/img] (and all for about 20 €, of shipping cost...)

[SloppyJoe]

Really interested in seeing your collection!

[Sonthert]

Bienvenido al Hookah Forum.

Si usted tiene alguna duda, solo nos pide.

Mi padre fumaba en pipa zarza ... y lo hice por un tiempo corto, tambien.