Types Of Hookahs?

[FrankWazny]

Hey Everyone, Apparently there a multiple types of hookahs? I was under the impression that a hookah was a hookah LOL For example there are Egyptian, Chinese, Syrian, etc. Could someone help me understand the differences between these types of hookahs other then their country of origin? Thanks! -Frank

[Hookah-burgar]

Frank, I wonder wether any of us would be able to answer your question in just one post. I would rather suggest you browse the Forum, there is plenty of information in here. 

Just as an introduction, I'd say your first impression was correct: A "hookah" is a "hookah". I mean the essential parts of an oriental waterpipe are always the same even if on some pipes the flexible hose might be replaced by a rigid stem, and the physics of the waterpipe are always the same. Then, one could imagine several different typologies or categories to classify "types" of hookahs... Differencies are mostly minor, and criteria are not easy to stablish. If one choose to divide hookahs in "modern" and "traditional" (which many persons do) the difficulty is to stablish limits. I mean that a Czech made all crystal Meduse pipe is no doubt modern, and the same applies to a FUMO, a LAVOO or a NARGILEM NPS, but should we consider an Egyptina Khalil Mamoon "traditional"? For many, most Egyptian pipes found in the market nowadays are quite modern: They have wider diameter downstems and purge valves and tend to be quite tall. Older Egyptian, Syrian or Turkish pipes would be considered rather small or even Mini pipes nowadays, wether they be from the 1920's, the mid nineteenth Century or the XVIIIth Century.

You might divide pipes in Chinese made and the others. But then, not all Chinese made modern pipes are the same quality, and the "Others" can be subdivided in many categories...

You might consider pipes with flexible hoses and pipes with rigid reeds or stems instead (such as the Egyptian "Guza", the Tunisian " 'rguila", the Indian "Gurguri" (all small, hand-held simple pipes often made with a coconut shell as vase) or many old Indian or Pakistani "hookahs").

You might classify pipes by Country of Origin, but then the borders are sometime difficult to stablish. Anyhow, many national styles or shapes, or minor differences, are quite recent. Most waterpipes smoked in Turkey, Syria, Palestine or Egypt in say, 1920, looked almost identical: Medium to small size brass pipes, without purge valve, with a rather long and narrow hose port and male bowls. Then waterpipes have always travelled. I mean, it was not uncommon to find an Indian made hookah in remote parts of the Ottoman Empire, such as Greece or Macedonia, or Yemenite Mede'as, also influenced by Malabar (Indian) pipes in Istambul, or nowadays, Egyptian pipes almost everywhere, from Dubai to Bombay...

Again, my advice is to surf the Forum and the web, and learn little by little about the little differences between natiopnal styles and about the evolution of waterpipes from the older ones made with a gourd or calabash or a coconut shell to the FUMO crystal ones, for example. 

[Bawhee]

Like its been said above, a hookah is a hookah, basic functionality and workings of a hookah are the same globally, the differences are mostly in appearance. The thing you might wanna consider is quality of the pipe, dont go chinese unless its MYA, theyre the only quality chinese manufacturer. If you can get an egyptian its probably gonna be a KM, maybe a Magdy Zidan, both well known and quality brands. Elmas (a turkish brand) has been all the rage on the forums for a while now... theres many brands, many looks etc. Everyone finds some setup that they like best, your best bet is to look through the forums, and see what you think will suit you!

[Chreees]

They're all just variations of the same thing. You have different styles, typically distinguished by where they are made- Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, and China are the most common places. You really just have to look at them to understand the differences. Over time you gain a keen eye to be able to know what's what. As a general rule of thumb, Egyptians, Syrians, Lebanese, and Turkish hookahs are all hand made, whereas Chinese hookahs are machine made. Then you have different brands or makers... Most popular Egyptian brand is Khalil Mamoon, most popular Syrian brand is Al Nawras, most popular Turkish brand is Elmas, and most popular Chinese brand is Mya Saray. There's a lot more than this, but it's a start. As Jose mentioned above, it's hard to answer your question in just one post. Browse the forum and online retail sites and you'll soon be able to tell the differences and identify any hookah with little to no effort.

[Bawhee]

if you havent checked back in this thread since you posted, you jusat got the same reply 3 times with differing amounts of over complicating. :D 

[KnightHawk63]

Le Sigh. I'll use my $.02 but it will be in a more straightforward format. Read all of the above then look at this little chart that will magically appear below.

 

Egyptian - Magdy Zidan, Khalil Maamoon, Hope, Farida, Nakhla, Al-Fakher, Yehia El Khawanky & Sons, and more...

Syrian - Nour, Al Nawras

Turkish - Elmas, Othmani, Tokel, El Nefes (shivers...)

Chinese - Mya

 

There are also loads of generics in each category, they aren't bad (besides Chinese generics), just not branded. Most likely made in the same factory as mentioned above.

[ilikemyusername]

A hookah is a lot like a penis
Some are long and some are short
Some are skinny and some are fat
If you fail to take care of it, it will fall apart

Perhaps a hookah is like a woman
Some are tall and some are short
Some are skinny and some are fat
They come from all over the world
Some are expensive and some are cheap
You have to take care if it if you want to keep it
You don't want a dirty one near your mouth
You can spend a lot on it and not get exactly what you wanted
You can pick one up that will get the job done right around the corner...
I could go on...

[Chreees]

God I missed you, ilikemyusername... Thank you for coming back.

[ilikemyusername]

It's good to be here... :)