“A Shisha a day…

Dubai – October 2022

… keeps the doctor away”. This or something similar is probably how you can describe the slight hookah addiction of me and my flatmates in Dubai. Less than 2 weeks after moving into apartment 406 in Expo Village, we buy our Amy Deluxe at http://www.shishazon.com. We opted for a simple model with a transparent cup and 2 hoses. Unfortunately, for some inexplicable reason, the additional hose doesn’t match the rest of the water pipe, so we have to alternate between the two.

When Amy is delivered, we head straight to the nearest Carrefour to buy coal and tobacco. Luckily, the supermarket around the corner, which is open around the clock, opens a little later. From then on, we are only a short scooter ride away from a supply of coal and tobacco in mint, grape, watermelon and many other flavors. Until 2021, I have only occasionally taken a puff on a water pipe in my life. Even otherwise, I have rarely felt the urge to smoke. So I watch intently as Alina and Liana prepare the hookah for the first time.

First, 4 pieces of charcoal are placed on the gas stove so that the flames heat up the dark cubes. Then use the charcoal tongs to pack some mint tobacco into the clay shisha bowl and fill the rest with grape or blueberry. It is important to leave some air around the edge. The bowl is covered with an aluminum grate with holes, which will later hold the charcoal. It continues to sizzle away – some of the sides are already completely white and are turned with tongs so that the rest slowly burns.

In the meantime, we fill the shisha cup with tap water a little over the widest part and put on tea at the same time. The shisha is then reassembled and placed on the living room table. The kettle whistles, a few spoons of black tea are poured into the tea strainer and boiling water is poured over them. A little honey is added to each cup and a few fresh dates are placed in a bowl. Now all that’s missing is the charcoal. With a few vigorous puffs, all 4 pieces are transformed into glowing cubes and can be placed on the grate at the top of the shisha.

The first puffs of a new shisha are the most strenuous. After all, the cup has to be filled with steam first. In shisha bars, this is usually the job of the service staff. In Jordan, we even see the hookahs being “started” with a small motor. With our Amy, we have to do this ourselves. Afterwards, our relaxed end to the day begins with shisha, chai and jazz. It becomes a little ritual after particularly hard days at the Expo and it’s not unusual for these sessions to last late into the night.

There is something meditative about pulling on the hose, inhaling the fruity smoke and listening to the bubbling of the water. Once, when I come home from a party on the terrace of the Swiss Pavilion, I actually find Alina and Liana smoking in the living room at 3.00 am. Naturally, I sit down to tell them about the party. However, I quickly realize that alcohol doesn’t go so well with the strong smoke. After all, a shisha is a lot stronger (and more harmful) than cigarettes.

It should also be noted that smoking is not actually permitted inside the Expo Village apartments. So for the first few weeks, we hide the shisha in the cupboard every Tuesday before the cleaning staff arrive. Over time, however, this becomes too tedious and we simply leave Amy on the living room table. Once, when we three girls try to spend a typical Emirati evening picnicking by the roadside in the desert, she is even allowed to join us on a trip to the beach. But I’ll write about that another time.